Chances In Life
by XO'MagickMoon'OX
Summary: Riku's a passionate musician who doesn't believe in love. Sora just didn't think he'd ever find love. What happens when they meet? [AU] [RikuxSora]
1. An Arbitrary Meeting

**Chances in Life**

_XO'MagickMoon'OX _

**.Chapter I.** An Arbitrary Meeting

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**/Riku's POV/**

"Heads up!"

Without even looking up from my magazine, I reached up and caught whatever it was my idiot of a coworker had thrown at me. A sharp pang seared through my palm as the edge of a CD case impacted it, but I didn't even flinch.

"Dammit!" Tidus jumped over the counter and eyed me suspiciously as I handed him the CD case, my eyes still glued to my magazine, though I wasn't even absorbing the words as my eyes skimmed over the article. It was all some pointless garbage, anyway, about some slut pop star who'd been impregnated by her fiancé, whom everyone knew she was just going to end up divorcing six months into the marriage. What I didn't understand was why anyone thought the public cared. _I _certainly didn't care. So why had I even bought the stupid magazine in the first place? I didn't remember.

"How do you do it?" Tidus wondered aloud, sounding miffed.

Having finally made the realization that the magazine article no longer held my interest, I closed it and acknowledged my friend. "Do what?"

"Just … catch, deflect, dodge … anything I throw at you!"

I passed him one of my trademark smirks. "Because I'm awesome, and you are no master of subtlety."

He scowled at me. "Psh, whatever." He stomped off to put the merchandise back on the shelf, muttering derisively under his breath.

I sighed, suddenly struck with a bout of boredom. I looked around the cramped store, from the wall of band T-shirts in the back to the corner stocked with anime merchandise, to the rack of CD's where Tidus was returning the one he'd thrown at me to the front where the corsets, shoes, underwear, and other various tops, etcetera, were found. There was some hardcore band blaring from random speakers throughout the room, and I suddenly found myself tuning into it, trying to discern the lyrics from amidst the heavy guitar chords, driving rhythms supplied by the bass guitar and drums, and screams underlying the singer's melody. My mission was futile.

I sighed again, propping my elbows on the counter and dropping my chin into my hands. I watched through the entrance of the store to the bit of mall framed in the doorway, looking on at the people that passed.

Just as I began to count down the minutes until I could leave and sate my protesting stomach down at the food court, a red-and-brown-and-purple blur shot across the entrance.

I blinked.

It almost seemed as if I'd imagined the whole thing, until the red-and-brown-and-purple blur returned, except as less of a blur and as more of actual people. A boy and a girl, to be exact. Both looked to be about my age. They stood outside the door, the girl pointing and laughing animatedly. The boy, whom I thought was much cuter in comparison to the girl (in case anyone should care), was blushing and shaking his head.

Finally the girl threw her hands up in exasperation and grabbed the other's wrist, dragging him inside.

And then something collided with the side of my head.

"Ow! Shit, Tidus!" I yelled angrily.

Tidus was standing over in the anime corner, gaping at me as if I'd just swung down from the ceiling on a jungle vine, wearing a loincloth. Then, his deer-in-a-headlight expression broke into a wide grin. He rushed over to the counter and began laughing in my face. "I got you!" He continued laughing.

I rolled my eyes, stooping to pick up the Inuyasha key chain he'd pegged at my head. "Yeah, well don't expect it to happen again."

"Excuse me."

I turned to see the boy standing in front of the register, looking flustered, and if I'd thought he was cute before, he was even cuter up close.

"Yes?"

He held up, to my surprise, I a bead-strewn, black thong, and I immediately recognized it as one of the ones from our panties selection.

I quirked an eyebrow and bit back the laugh that was crawling up my throat.

"Does this come in any other colors?" the boy asked hurriedly.

I heard a short laugh sound from somewhere in the front of the store. The boy just blushed a deeper shade of red.

Feeling the irresistible urge to tease the boy, I couldn't help but ask, "Now is this for your girlfriend ... or you?"

I grinned as his adorable heart-shaped face became stained with a red so deep that it was almost purple. Had I not been so amused and captivated by this person, I would've begun to worry about his health at that point. I was pretty sure it wasn't normal for people to have purple faces.

"Girlfriend?" The redheaded girl appeared at his side. "Psh, if only he were so lucky." Then she leaned in to whisper to her friend, "_I told you he'd have a sexy voice!_"

I rolled my eyes. Obviously this girl, like Tidus, was no master of subtlety. Either that, or she'd _wanted _me to hear her. Hmm, now there was a thought.

"Riku!"

I jumped, turning to face the angry, metallic gaze of my boss. I grinned sheepishly.

"What are you still doing here?" he asked in that even tone of his.

"Huh?" Oh yes, articulacy was definitely a strong point of mine.

"It's your break. Go get some lunch."

"Oh, right!" I went to swing a leg over the counter—

"And no jumping over the counter."

—and brought it back, using the gated opening instead.

"Riku!" Tidus called. "Bring me back something, _please!_ I'm starving."

"Sure thing."

I turned to the two customers—the only two we appeared to have at the moment—and said, "You want to come?"

"Sure!" the girl chirped, grabbing the boy's hand. "I'm Kairi, by the way."

"Riku," I offered my name, though it was probably a redundant gesture.

"And this is Sora," Kairi said.

"Kairi, I can speak for myself," Sora muttered.

"Then go ahead."

Sora huffed, scowling at the redhead, who just grinned amusedly.

"Let's go," I said, leaving the store. The two followed.

We pushed through the sparse crowd of shoppers with little difficulty, being that it was a Wednesday afternoon. We reached the food court, and immediately my stomach growled painfully at the savory aromas wafting through the area.

"So, where do you guys want to eat?"

"Anywhere is fine," Kairi replied.

"How about the Panda Express?" I offered, overcome with a sudden craving for Chinese food.

"Sure."

We got in the short line at the Panda Express, and within ten minutes, were sitting down by the windows in a far corner. As I tore open my straw wrapper and poked it through the lid of my soda, I started up a conversation with Kairi and Sora. Well, actually it would probably wind up being with Kairi solely, because Sora didn't seem to be very chatty.

"So where do you guys go to school?"

Kairi picked up her fork and stabbed at her fried rice. "At the local Catholic school," she answered.

"Ah, so that's why I don't recognize you."

"What grade are you in?" Kairi asked.

"Senior," I replied laconically. "You?"

"Juniors. So you're … eighteen?"

"Yeah, since October."

"Do you have your license?"

"Yup." I took a bite of my orange chicken, the sweet flavor filling my senses.

"That's awesome! I can't wait to get mine."

"Which will be when?"

"Two Aprils from now."

"And what about him?" I asked, poking my fork in Sora's direction.

"Next August," Sora answered, the first words he'd said since we'd left the store.

I nodded, shoveling some fried rice into my mouth. Swallowing, I said, "So, I've never seen you around the store before."

"I suppose we don't shop there much," Kairi said.

"Why not?"

"Why should we?"

"Because we're the most awesome store in the mall!" I replied enthusiastically. I was a walking advertisement.

"Honestly, that store kinda scares me," Kairi murmured.

I shrugged. "Oh well, what can I say? Everyone has their own preferences. After all, how boring would it be if we all liked the same things? Individuality is important."

Kairi nodded vigorously.

"I agree."

I turned to Sora. He wasn't looking at us, just sitting there and silently eating his food. It almost seemed as if he hadn't said anything, but we knew otherwise.

"Why don't you talk more?" I prompted.

Sora shrugged. "I don't have much to say."

"You're such a liar," Kairi teased. "You're usually so talkative that I have to stuff something in your mouth to get you to shut up."

Sora flushed. I just watched him, finding it hard to believe that someone who seemed so taciturn could be loquacious, as Kairi claimed. I went back to my plate, finishing up my rice.

"So," I spoke after a few moments of silence, "what's your relationship, you two?"

Kairi looked up. "We're not dating, if that's what you think."

"No, I know that. You kinda made that clear back in the store."

"Right." Kairi giggled. "Well, we're just best friends. What about you? You and your coworker seem to be good friends."

"Tidus? Yeah, I guess you could say that."

"Your boss seems kinda cold, though."

I chuckled. "Yeah, Leon gives everyone that impression. Really, though, he's like an older brother to me. And Tidus. And all of the other employees. He cares, he just doesn't go out of his way to show it."

"He's hot, too," Kairi said. "Does he have a girlfriend?"

I could sense the hopeful chord in her voice, and smiled amusedly. "Oh no, he doesn't have a girlfriend. And I doubt if he ever will."

"Because of his personality?"

"Because of his sexual preference."

Kairi's face fell slightly. "Oh."

I seemed to have caught Sora's interest, because he was now watching me with those rich, blue eyes of his. I couldn't help but feel captured by their stare. Like I was drowning. No, not drowning—suffocating, as if I couldn't get enough air into my lungs, no matter how many breaths I took. And the scary thing was, I didn't mind.

"He's gay?" Sora asked.

"Yup."

"And it doesn't bother you?"

I scowled slightly. "No, why should it?"

"Oh, don't get the wrong idea," Kairi said hurriedly. "It's just … attending a Catholic school, we're generally surrounded by homophobes."

"So you two don't have a problem with homosexuality?" I asked.

"Nope," Kairi answered cheerily. Sora shook his head.

I smiled, finishing the last of my chicken and taking a sip of my soda. I got up to throw away my tray, leaving my drink on the table to finish when I came back. I quickly stepped away to get Tidus something at Wendy's, and as I returned I saw Kairi and Sora talking. I stepped lightly up behind them, eavesdropping.

"Sora, you have to talk more!" Kairi was saying.

"I'll make a fool of myself," Sora groaned.

"Ugh, _Sora! _How do you expect me to help you if you don't do your part?"

"I never said I wanted help!"

"But you need it."

"No, I don't!"

"Yes, you do!"

Help? With what?

"Come on, Sora! Just because—"

"Kairi, drop it." Sora stood then, picking up his tray to bring over to the trash can, and met my gaze. He started, nearly dropping his garbage.

"Hi," I said, smiling.

"H-Hi." He blushed, pushing past me.

I watched him go and then went to grab my drink. "What's up with him?" I asked Kairi.

"I don't know. He's not usually this shy. He's actually really outgoing."

"Hmmm." I finished up my soda and checked my cell phone for the time. "I have to get back to work. You wanna come back with me?"

"I don't think we can. We have to go home." Kairi smiled apologetically. "But maybe we'll see you again some time."

"Yeah."

Oh, you could count on it. Looking at Sora as he returned, I knew there was no way I was letting him get away. I didn't know what exactly I was feeling, but I guess you could call it "lust at first sight". I didn't really believe in love. Every relationship I'd ever been in had been based purely on physical attraction. Boy, girl, it didn't matter; a pretty face and a good body and you were mine. Yeah, some may call me shallow, but really when it came down to it, I just … didn't believe in love.

"Come on, Sora," Kairi said, standing with her tray.

Sora nodded and turned to leave. I came up beside him and whispered in his ear, "See ya around." He stiffened slightly and nodded again, more tersely this time. I smiled captivatingly, making sure to catch his eye, and walked away from them, back through the food court and towards Hot Topic, Tidus's food in hand.

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**TBC **

Lend me your thoughts, I beg of thee, O mighty readers!


	2. Mercy Me

**Chances in Life**

_XO'MagickMoon'OX_

**.Chapter II.** Mercy Me

**A/N: **The song is _Mercy Me_ by Alkaline Trio.

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**/Sora's POV/**

Damn. He was _gorgeous! _Absolutely gorgeous. I'd never seen anyone so beautiful as him.

He wasn't for me.

There was no way someone like him would actually be interested in someone like me. I was so plain, so boring, so average, while he was a god. An evil one. One sent down from the heavens just to spite me, to tease me and prove to me how completely pathetic I was. And Kairi was no help. Nope, not one bit.

"How do you expect me to help if you don't do your part?" I mimicked her, purposefully distorting my voice to prove how truly pointless her attempts at "helping" me were. I didn't need any help, dammit!

"Oh Sora," Kairi sighed, "stop complaining."

"I'm not complaining!"

Aerith looked through the mirror back at me, watching me pout. "What happened?" she asked.

I turned my gaze out the car window, ignoring her question. I knew Kairi would answer anyway.

"We met this drop-dead gorgeous guy at the mall. I tried to get Sora to talk to him, but he just shut-up and barely spoke a word!" Kairi said breathlessly, tossing her hands about dramatically to emphasize her words. She turned to look back at me from the front seat beside Aerith. "You totally blew it!"

"Blew what?" I asked.

"Blew your chance with him!"

"I never even had a chance to begin with!"

"Sora," Aerith said reprovingly, "don't talk like that. You're good enough for anyone."

"Hn," I grunted dubiously.

"She's right," Kairi insisted. "Really Sora, you don't know how attractive you are."

I sighed. It was hopeless to try to get them to understand. I really _wasn't _good enough for Riku. He probably wasn't even interested in other guys, firstly, and secondly, if he was, he wouldn't be interested in me. It was as simple as that.

"Well, I'm not giving up. I think you two would make a good couple," Kairi continued. "We're going back to the mall this weekend."

I groaned, sinking down in my seat. "No_ooooo!_"

"Ye_sssss!_" Kairi teased. "We are going back and that's final!"

"And I suppose you need me to drive?" Aerith asked tiredly.

Kairi nodded.

"God, I can't wait 'til you two get your licenses."

**---**

True to her word, Kairi brought me back to the mall that Saturday. Or rather, dragged me kicking and screaming the whole way. I really didn't want to face Riku again. As we made our way to Hot Topic, I prayed with all my heart that he wouldn't be there.

But God must hate me. 'Cause there he was.

He smiled as we entered, looking up from some purchase he was scanning. "Hey."

**/Riku's POV/**

He came back! Well, I'd wager that Kairi forced him back, but still ... he came back! Had I not been standing behind the counter, attending to a customer, I would've jumped him right then and there. He probably wouldn't have appreciated that, but I wouldn't have let that hinder me. He just looked so ... perfect. I don't know what it was about him ... but I guess being deprived of him for three days ...

Wow, listen to me, I sounded like some housewife whose husband had just returned from fighting overseas.

So he was completely adorable, with a gorgeous face and very kissable lips and a nice body (from what I could see) … but I couldn't lose my composure. He'd be mine eventually. Patience was a virtue.

Screw that. Patience was a bitch.

"There you are, ma'am." I folded up the _Senses Fail_ T-shirt I'd just rung up and tucked it into a plastic bag. "Have a nice day."

The woman smiled. "You too." She took her bag and left, and the boy behind her stepped up. I quickly glanced down the line. Two more to go after this kid.

Sora and Kairi were standing to the side of the counter, watching me work. I didn't think it was very fascinating, but whatever. As I scanned the boy's belt and sweatshirt, Kairi started talking.

"So, what's up?"

"What does it look like?" I replied with an easy smile.

"Having fun?"

"Oh, tons," I answered sarcastically. "But I guess it's not so dull now that you two are back." I met Sora's gaze, and he quickly averted his eyes, blushing. He really was adorable.

Then, a girl with bleached hair (you knew it was by her telltale black roots) approached the counter, smiling innocently. Innocent my ass. Her lips were painted maroon, her eyes coated in black mascara and eyeliner, and the collar of her shirt was so low and the bottom cropped so high that she might as well have just been wearing a bra, no shirt. Sure, she was hot in a sluttish sort of way, and I could tell by her flirtatious air that she was interested in me, but for some reason, I just wasn't having it.

"Can I help you?" I asked as pleasantly as possible; her seductive demeanor was really starting to irritate me.

"I just wanted your opinion on something," she said, her voice so sweet it was sickening.

"Yeah?"

"What color do you think I'd look better in?" She held up a pink thong in one hand and a black thong in the other, still smiling that overly-angelic smile.

I mentally flashed on Sora and our first meeting and grinned. I glanced over at him, and I caught his eyes for a split-second before he busied himself with looking through the Napoleon Dynamite pins on the counter. He was blushing again; he did that far too easily.

I turned back to the she-devil standing in front of the counter and sighed. "Uh … black," I answered her nonchalantly. She frowned at my lack of enthusiasm and took the hint that I wasn't interested.

"Oh, well … um … thanks," she said, forcing another smile and walked away, replacing the panties on the shelf and leaving the store.

I checked my watch. It was actually almost time for me to leave to go home. Sephiroth would be here soon to take the register.

Speak of the devil.

Sephiroth stepped across the threshold and swept up the counter, looking as apathetic as ever. I saw Kairi and Sora shy away from his imposing form and smirked. I looked around quickly, making sure Leon wasn't around, and jumped over the counter while Sephiroth used the gated opening like any normal employee.

"Seph," I said, "I'm going out with my friends for a little while."

Sephiroth turned his sights on Sora and Kairi and shrugged. "Just be home by seven. Remember."

"I won't forget." I took my dazed buddies' hands and left the store.

Once we were a good ten paces away from Hot Topic, Kairi asked, "Who was that?"

"Sephiroth," I answered promptly. Then, I elaborated, "My older brother."

"That explains the resemblance." Kairi smiled.

"Yeah, I get that a lot."

"He seems scary," Sora spoke.

I turned to look at him, saying, "Yeah, _he _gets that a lot. That's just the way he is. But, like Leon, he really does care."

"They remind me of Mr. Strife," Sora said to Kairi.

"Yeah, me too," she agreed.

"Your … teacher?" I asked.

"Uh-huh, he's our History teacher," Kairi informed me.

"I see."

"So, what are we doing now?" Kairi asked.

"Well, I was going to go … somewhere." Actually, I had no idea where I wanted to go. I was planning on heading home and playing until our practice tonight. But now, I don't think Kairi and Sora would've had much fun listening to my noise.

On our way down the escalator, I looked down the mall and saw the flashing lights of the arcade. And suddenly, I had an _epiphany_. Okay, so maybe not exactly. I just like that word.

Anyway. I decided then that the arcade would be our destination. So, making the suggestion to Sora and Kairi and receiving their enthusiastic agreement, I led them towards the arcade. As we stepped inside, Sora immediately took off in a certain direction. Kairi and I followed.

"Oh, I know where he's going," Kairi said.

"Where?"

But then I knew when we found Sora standing before the DDR machine. _Dance Dance Revolution_. I loved that game. Apparently Sora did, too.

Kairi laughed. "I can't play this for my life, but Sora's amazing."

"Hmmm," I hummed thoughtfully. This could be interesting.

Sora pulled out his wallet and got a handful of change from a zippered pocket. We watched him slide a few coins into the slot and jump up onto the platform. Within minutes, he was playing, nailing each move with an acute accuracy that I had no idea someone who appeared so gentle and innocent could possess. The word "perfect" never left the screen. No "great", no "good", no "almost", no "o.k.", and definitely no "boo". The bar at the top was a rainbow blend, and I couldn't help but be impressed.

Once he'd finished, clearing each level with ease, he hopped off. His face was flushed and his bangs were beginning to stick to his forehead, but he was glowing with happiness and smiling brightly through his panting. Now this was a boy who looked to be the social and talkative teen his friend claimed he was.

I smirked and pulled on the chain that was attached to my wallet, sliding it from my pocket. I took out some change and held my hand out invitingly. "Play with me?" I asked.

Sora's eyes widened in utter astonishment and he nodded tentatively, seeming to slip back into that shell which I'd normally seen him hide inside. Not the reaction I'd expected, but at least he'd agreed. Stepping back onto the platform, he pulled out some change of his own and deposited it into the machine. I jumped on and did the same.

And the game began.

Setting it to "versus" and "heavy", we started dancing. We were basically evenly matched. The fast-paced techno music pulsed through the speakers. Our feet were moving faster than I could register, my limbs moving automatically to the game's dictations. Kairi cheered in the background, and I could hear other people cheering as well, some whistling approvingly. I heard Sora laugh delightedly, and I couldn't help but laugh myself. We passed level after level, our scores almost equal. He was beating me.

But it was exhilarating, consuming, exciting! I could feel sweat beading at my brow, hair spinning around my face and sticking to my neck, my heart working overtime to accommodate the strain, and my throat tight as I gasped for air. It was over all too soon.

"I win!" Sora jumped up and down, punching the air triumphantly. I stood there, catching my breath and watching him in his glory. It made me smile to see him so happy. He was just too adorable for words.

"Nice game!" I said, extending my hand. He stopped jumping and looked up at me before a grin broke anew over his face and he took my offering, shaking my hand zealously. The crowd behind us cheered louder, and Kairi jumped up with us, slinging arms around our shoulders. She laughed giddily, and we couldn't help but join in. "I don't think I've ever had so much fun!" I gasped out between laughs. "I've never met anyone who could match me in DDR, much less beat me."

Sora nodded. Then he took a deep breath, stepping off the platform. "Phew! I need some air," he said.

We followed him as he exited the arcade. After picking up a couple of water bottles at a nearby pretzel stand, we left the mall and stepped into the cool December air. After being in the stuffy mall, the frosty temperature felt indescribably good.

I checked the time. "Wow, it's already six thirty."

"Do you have anything else planned tonight?" Kairi wondered.

"Yeah … we're having practice at seven," I answered.

"'Practice'?" Kairi gave me a funny look.

"Band practice," I clarified.

"You're in a band?" Sora and Kairi asked simultaneously.

"Oh yeah … didn't I tell you?" How could that have slipped my mind? Music was one of the most important things in my life, after all. "I'm the bassist and lyricist."

"Who else is in it?" Kairi asked.

"Wait, before I get into the details, do you guys wanna come over and watch?"

"Sure!" Kairi agreed.

Sora didn't look too certain, but Kairi didn't seem to leave room for argument.

"Great!" I said. "My car's this way." As we started towards where I'd parked, I answered Kairi's question. "Tidus, Leon, and Sephiroth are in it. So are our other friends, Yuffie and Wakka." I ticked them off on my fingers. "Tidus sings, Wakka does drums, Yuffie does keyboard, and Leon and Sephiroth are on guitar. Yuffie and I sing backup. And although I'm the lyricist, that doesn't mean that I write all of the songs by myself. Everyone collaborates. But a lot of the songs are written solely by me, and then we all come up with the notes together depending on what we think the mood of the song is, based on the words."

"That's awesome." Kairi was bubbling with enthusiasm. Sora appeared to have shut himself up again, much to my disappointment. For some reason unknown to myself, I liked to see him happy and active. It just didn't suit him to be so taciturn.

So I grabbed his hand and pulled him over between Kairi and me. He gave a startled yelp before that typical blush filled his cheeks. Kairi looked away for a moment, and I could tell she was stifling a giggle. I just smiled and didn't release Sora's hand, although I could tell he was furtively trying to pull it out of my grasp. I pretended not to notice. As we neared my car, I pulled out my keys and unlocked it, going to the passenger side to open the door for Sora. He looked at me questioningly before sliding in. Kairi jumped in the back as I took the driver's seat and started up the engine.

"Where do you live?" Kairi asked.

"Oh, about ten minutes from here." I pulled out of the parking space and took off for home.

For the entire ride, Sora kept his eyes trained on the window, his hands securely in his lap. He barely moved. Hell, I think he barely _breathed_. Could he really be that nervous? I was a nice guy … what was there to worry about? Okay, so maybe, ultimately, my goal was to get into his pants, but he didn't know that, and even if he did, that was nothing to worry about, anyway. He should be looking forward to it. I know I was.

All right, well, enough of that.

Before I knew it, I was pulling into my driveway. It was almost seven. We got out of the car and I locked it behind us. I welcomed them inside as I went to fetch my instrument, inviting them to sit in the living room. I was back ten minutes later, bass guitar in hand and my notebook in the other.

"Say Riku," Kairi said, "where're your parents?"

"Oh," I waved my hand dismissively, my notebook flopping to the side as I did so, "they're always working. Hardly around. Seph's always here though, when he's not at school or work. He goes to the community college and then works at Hot Topic in his free time, and also plays in our band."

"Wow, busy guy."

"I guess you could say we both are, seeing so I have the same schedule as him. Well, slightly different, since I'm in high school, but you get the idea." I gave a small grin. "But since winter break is almost here, we'll have a little extra time on our hands. And Mom and Dad will be home for a few days, Christmas Eve and Christmas, and then New Year's Eve and New Year's." I checked the time. "All right, time to go."

"Where?" Kairi asked.

"We practice at Leon's, since he has the most commodious garage. He lives about seven minutes from here."

They stood from the couch and followed me out the door. Sora tried to slip into the backseat of my car, but Kairi forced him up front. God bless that girl. He still seemed uneasy. So, on the short car ride, I tried to strike up a conversation.

"Hey, Sora, d'you have any siblings?"

He shook his head. Maybe I should steer clear of the "yes or no" questions in order to get him to speak.

"Erm … what kind of music do you like?"

"Any kind, I guess."

"…" I waited for him to say more, but he just looked out the window. For a moment, the image of him, happy and smiling after playing DDR, flashed through my mind. How was I supposed to get him to show himself like that again? To get him to open up to me?

Wait, why did I care? It wasn't like we were good friends or anything akin to it. I wanted him because of his appearance, nothing more. I wasn't interested in anything other than that. Really, I wasn't.

I resisted the sudden urge to bash my head against the steering wheel.

Then, we thankfully arrived at Leon's, and the Car Ride From Hell came to an end. Okay, so maybe I was over-exaggerating a little, but I just didn't know what to do! It was slowly driving me insane.

"Riku? Are you okay?"

I looked up suddenly from whatever I had been doing to see Sora, watching me concernedly. It was then that I became aware of the dull pain throbbing through my forehead and realized that I had, indeed, been bashing my head against the steering wheel in the midst of my mental ramblings.

But he'd spoken! Praise the Lord, Sora had spoken! To me! Okay, so it hadn't been the first time, but … did he look worried? For my health, perhaps? Did that mean he cared?

Hmmm … okay, anyway, we probably should've been out of the car at that point, so I said, "I'm fine," with a characteristic smile, stepping out of the car and grabbing my bass from the trunk. With Sora and Kairi in tow, I walked up onto the porch and knocked once before letting myself in and heading towards the door that led to the garage.

"Finally!"

I jumped as Sephiroth snapped at me. But I knew he didn't mean anything by the sharp tone; that was just the way he tended to talk.

"Sorry, I got kinda held up." Kinda … sorta … not really, I was just late. By five minutes. Oh wow, the world's coming to an end! Ahem. "We have an audience today, boys!"—Yuffie grunted—"And girl."

"And who would this audience be …?" Leon quirked an eyebrow.

I stepped aside to reveal Sora and Kairi. Kairi waved in greeting and Sora just smiled somewhat sheepishly.

"Hey, I remember those two," Tidus said. "They came to the store the other day."

"And today," Leon added. "I saw them."

"They're the friends you went out with, yes?" Seph asked me.

I nodded. "Yup. I invited them to watch our practice."

"Oh boy," Wakka groaned. "We're a cacophony, ya."

"We are not," Yuffie argued. "We sound fine."

As Wakka and Yuffie continued to bicker, I unpacked my bass and plugged it into one of Leon's three amps with the cable I'd brought. Tuning up, I turned to Sora and Kairi. "You guys can sit over there, if you want." I motioned to a couch in the far corner. "And feel free to cover your ears; we won't take it into offense. We're just a little loud is all."

Kairi nodded. "All right."

I then pulled out my earplugs and stuck them in my ears. After tuning up themselves, Leon and Seph did the same, followed by Wakka, Tidus, and Yuffie. Yeah, we weren't stupid. None of us wanted to go deaf at such a young age. I mean really, our musical careers would've gone no where if that ever were to happen. It's not like we were Beethoven reincarnations. How that guy ever composed such brilliant pieces without his hearing, I'll never know.

Wakka counted off. "One, two … one, two, three, four!"

And immediately we plunged into our music.

**/Sora's POV/**

Oh my god. They sounded awesome! Their melody, their rhythm … it was amazing! And just watching Riku … he seemed so into the music, with his fingers moving across the neck and plucking nonstop at the strings and his head bobbing slightly as he smiled faintly.

And then Tidus took the mike and began singing.

"_It's been a long day living with this,__  
It's been a long time since I felt so sick.  
__I took a long walk straight back home,  
I could've walked back to San Francisco._  
_I used to long for time alone,  
I used to long for a place of my own.  
And I'm losing faith in everything,  
I'm lost, so lost, I'm lost at sea, you'll see." _

Tidus stopped, swaying to the music as the instruments went solo again. Then he sang back into the microphone:

"_I used to long for broken bones,  
I used to long for a casket to call my own.__  
I never had a problem facing fear,__  
But I'm done, over and out my dear and …_" 

Riku and Yuffie stepped up to their mikes and started singing backup for the chorus. Their harmony was perfect.

"_Oh mercy me,  
God bless catastrophe.__  
There's no way in Hell,  
We'll ever live to see through this so,__  
Drive yourself insane tonight,  
It's not that far away and I just,  
__Filled up your tank earlier today._  
_(Yeah!)_" 

I was speechless. I couldn't help but begin to tap my foot, my head bobbing to the beat. They just sounded so … so awesome! I wondered if Riku had written this song …

"_It's been a long day living with this,  
It's been a long time since I felt so sick.  
I took a long walk straight back home,  
__I could've walked back to Chicago._  
_I used to long for time along,__  
I used to long for a place of my own,__  
And I've lost faith in everything,__  
I'm lost, so lost, I'm lost without you._" 

I still couldn't believe how good Riku was at the bass. He really seemed to know what he was doing, and he really seemed to love every second of it. I wish I had that sort of passion for music. I wish I had that sort of passion for _anything _really. He stepped back up to his microphone.

"_Oh mercy me,__  
God bless catastrophe.__  
There's no way in Hell,__  
We'll ever live to see through this so,__  
Drive yourself insane tonight,__  
It's not that far away and I just,__  
Filled up your tank earlier today.__  
(Yeah!)_" 

The song was nearing it's end, I could tell. The thought sort of depressed me. I never wanted them to stop playing. I never wanted to stop watching Riku, with that whole excited demeanor and impassioned air. He seemed all the more beautiful when doing what he loved.

"_So drive yourself insane tonight,  
It's not that far away and I just,__  
Filled up your tank earlier today.__  
(Yeah!)__  
(Yeah!)_" 

The sound stopped with a few final descending chords, and I clapped. I couldn't help it. I just jumped to my feet and started clapping, grinning from ear to ear. "That was amazing!" I said.

The band was quiet for a moment. Then, they began smiling, too, and laughing (save for Leon and Sephiroth, but that was apparently only to be expected).

"You really think so?" Yuffie asked.

"Totally! That was just … great! You guys sound so _good!_"

My eyes found their way to a pair of aqua orbs, and I felt a blush creep across my face as Riku studied me in that way he tended to do. He cocked his head and grinned. "Thanks, Sora."

"Will … Will you play it again?" I asked meekly.

"Yeah!" Kairi cheered. "Encore!"

"You really want to hear it again?" Tidus wondered. "Well sure, I don't see why not."

I clapped. "All right!" Sitting back down, I watched them start up again and play the song anew, with the same vigor and flare. And Riku seemed to be simply glowing with happiness. If given the chance, I think I would've sat there and watched him forever.

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**TBC**

Revieweth my fair readers, and I shall be most delighted ... eth.


	3. Lost

**Chances in Life**

_XO'MagickMoon'OX_

**.Chapter III.** Lost ...

**A/N: **-**sigh**- I haven't gotten many reviews for this story, but I like it, and there are a few people who like it, so I'll keep posting. Thanks so much to those who reviewed! You guys are awesome!

Oh, and just so you know, **I made a slight change to chapter one.** Yeah, the part where Riku says he's "drowning" in Sora's eyes has been changed to:

"I seemed to have caught Sora's interest, because he was now watching me with those rich, blue eyes of his. I couldn't help but feel captured by their stare. Like I was drowning. No, not drowning—suffocating, as if I couldn't get enough air into my lungs, no matter how many breaths I took. And the scary thing was, I didn't mind."

It's significant, otherwise I wouldn't be mentioning it. It's a little symbolism I felt like throwing in ... does anyone get it? Maybe when you read Sora's thoughts on Riku's eyes in chapter five, you'll understand.

Anyway, enough rambling. Enjoy!

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**/Sora's POV/**

I opened the door gently and slipped inside the house with Kairi behind me. We took our shoes off and left them by the doormat.

"Mom! Dad!" I called. "Home! Kairi's staying over!"

We went to go upstairs when a stern voice stopped us. "Hold it right there."

I turned to meet the piercing, blue glare of my mother. My father was standing beside her, arms folded disapprovingly.

"…" Uh-oh. This didn't look good. I timidly made my way back down the two steps I'd started to go up. Kairi came to stand behind me supportively. "Yes, Mom?"

"Where have you been?" she demanded.

"Uh … at a friend's house," I replied uneasily.

"Which friend?" Dad asked.

"Someone we met at the mall."

"Someone you met at the mall?" my mom said, her voice rising an octave.

"Uh … yes?" I winced as their twin glares intensified.

"Someone whom we don't know?" my dad said.

"…"

"Sora Tsukada!" Mom shrieked. "How could you? You know better than that!"

"How did you get there?" my dad intervened.

Oh, they weren't going to like this. "He … drove us."

"You got in a car with a stranger!" My mom was starting to get hysterical, her face red with anger.

"Mom—"

"Sora." My dad's voice was threatening. "Sora, it's nine o'clock. You've been out since late afternoon. You left the mall without our knowing. You took a ride with a stranger to his house!"

"I … I'm sorry," I tried weakly. "But Riku wasn't … he's not …" How was I supposed to explain myself without freaking them out further?

"Mr. Tsukada," Kairi stepped in, "it's my fault. I was the one that originally agreed to go with Riku—"

"But Sora went along with it," Mom interrupted, now pacing. "Sora! You are in _big _trouble. And Kairi, your parents will be hearing about this."

"I know, Mrs. Tsukada," Kairi said softly.

"Sora, elaborate," Dad demanded.

"Okay," I said, relieved that I'd finally get a chance to lay it all out. "On Wednesday, when we went to the mall, we met someone who worked in one of the stores—Riku. We had lunch with him that day at the food court." I paused. They were watching me warily, but they seemed to have calmed down some. This was good. "Today, he was there again. After he got off work, we went down to the arcade in the mall and played a game for a little while. Then he said he was going home to have practice with his band and asked if we wanted to come listen. He drove us over to where it was being held—that was around seven o'clock—and we were there the for the rest of the time. And then he drove us home."

My parents still looked angry, but not panicked and furious as they had been minutes before.

"Sora," Mom said, "you had us worried sick! You are _not_ to go _anywhere_ with someone we don't know, at least not without our knowing about it! What if something had happened to you? We would've had no idea where you were!" She paced for another moment before adding, "Make sure it doesn't happen again."

I heaved a sigh. "Right."

"And," my dad added, "you're grounded for two weeks, starting tomorrow. You go to school and come home, no where else, except work. No phone or computer, unless it's strictly school-related. Got it?"

I heaved another, heavier sigh. "Right."

"Kairi can stay the night tonight, but she has to leave tomorrow morning. Are we clear?" Mom asked, raking her fingers through her cinnamon hair.

"Yes ma'am."

"Go."

We hurried up the stairs, and I closed the door behind us once we'd gotten to my room, sinking down against it. Kairi sat on my bed, fingering something in her right hand.

"It could'a been worse," she said after a moment of silence.

"Yeah, it really could'a," I said sincerely. "But, honestly … I'm _seventeen_, and they still treat me like I'm in sixth grade. I'm almost an adult, Kairi! Why are they so overprotective?"

Kairi shrugged. "They've just always been like that, I guess." She got up and pulled the futon mattress out from under my bed. Grabbing a pillow and blanket from my closet, she made up the futon. I opened my drawer and pulled out a nightshirt for her and my own pajamas. Throwing her the nightshirt, we quickly changed. She laid down on her makeshift bed beside mine as I flicked off the light and flopped down on my own bed, staring up at the ceiling, which was dusted blue from the moon outside my window.

After another moment or two of silence, Kairi said, "Here."

Something landed on my stomach. I looked down to see a slip of paper. "What's this?"

"Riku's phone number. He asked me to give it to you."

I rolled over to look down at Kairi, smiling appreciatively. "Thanks."

**/Riku's POV/**

I felt almost … oh, what was the word for it … elated? I suppose that could be it. I don't remember ever being this happy before. Sora had liked our band. He'd really liked it! Just the memory of him smiling, _enjoying _our music, it made me want to jump on my bed like a five-year old.

But instead, I flopped down on my bed like an eighteen-year old and sighed, a faint smile tugging at the corners of my lips.

"Hey."

I looked up to see Sephiroth standing in the doorway to my room.

"Hey," I replied.

"Great practice," he said evenly. I could tell he was working up to something, so I humored him.

"Yeah."

"Sora and Kairi seemed to enjoy it."

"Mmhm."

"Are you … interested in Sora?"

Ah, there it was. I looked back up at my ceiling. "Maybe."

"Liar."

"Okay, yes."

I could practically feel the irritation that rolled off of Seph then. "Just …" his voice was tight, "don't hurt him, Riku."

"I don't plan to."

It was obvious he didn't share in my certainty. But whatever, he could think what he wanted to. I would never hurt Sora. I couldn't wait to see him again.

I went to work again on Monday, but he didn't show. I hadn't really expected him to, though. But when Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday passed and he still hadn't dropped by the store, I began to get a little nervous. He hadn't called, either, and I'd told Kairi to give him my number. I trusted she did, but maybe Sora just didn't want to talk to me? Slowly, with each day, I could feel something inside of me breaking. I was probably overreacting, but I couldn't help it.

The weekend came, and no sign, no word, from Sora.

I stormed home Saturday afternoon and went to my room. We were having band practice in forty minutes. I grabbed my notebook and my pen and spent the next fifteen minutes or so writing my frustration away.

I tapped my pen against the blank page before the words began coming to me, as if some higher being was whispering them in my ear. But I guess it wasn't so much a 'higher being' as it was my heart.

_Calling all cars, all coroners, we've got a dead one here,__  
And anybody else receiving this, the west coast is far from clear,  
Like a time bomb, or sudden death, it's going to find you,__  
When you least expect, it's going to leave you,  
With the emptiest feeling inside._

_(Over-analyzed)_

_They found me face-down in the street,  
On the night you left to find another place to sleep,__  
In rain and regret,  
They said they tried everything but it was no use,__  
Yeah they tried everything and everyone but you._

I could feel my anger ebbing, even if just a little. Writing always helped me vent. It felt like my emotions were just flowing from my body, through my arm, into the pen, and manifesting themselves on the pages of my notebook.

_Falling like stars into the ocean black we're going to disappear,  
And anything left recognizable is rubbed away with fear,__  
We've got our hearts dipped in time release,__  
We've got the know-how and the elbow grease,__  
We've got our victim all cut up down here on the floor._

_(Over and out the door)_

_They found me face-down in the street,  
On the night you left to find another place to sleep,__  
In rain and regret,  
__They said they tried everything but it was no use,_  
_Yeah they tried everything and everyone but you._

Sitting back, I looked down at what I'd written, satisfied. Even if no one else understood the words, they made perfect sense to me and reflected what I was feeling. Corny, I know, but it was what I did to express myself. I combed my brain for a title, and found my hand scribbling across the top of the page, seemingly of its own accord: DETHBED. No, I hadn't spelled it wrong; I wanted to spell it that way.

I checked the time. I still had about another fifteen minutes. I guess getting there early couldn't hurt. I packed up my bass, grabbed my notebook and car keys, and stepped out the front door. The night was quiet, but my mind was far from at ease, although it was a little better after writing that song. I found myself wondering if Sora would ever come to see me again. Even if he couldn't have come down to the mall, he could've called. This was what worried me the most. Maybe he hated me.

I knocked once on Leon's door before letting myself in, as per usual, and went to the garage. Leon and Yuffie were already present. As I began to set up, still silently bitching in my head over Sora's disappearing act, Tidus and Wakka walked in, followed shortly after by Sephiroth.

Soon we were all ready.

"Hey," I said, the first word I'd spoken since arriving, "I wrote a new song."

"Oh?" Tidus came over to me as I ruffled through my notebook, opening to the page. "_Dethbed_? You spelled it—"

"Wrong? I know, I did that on purpose."

Tidus nodded and looked over the lyrics. "Sounds good. Are we going to figure out the tune?"

"Sure."

Seph, Leon, and I grabbed chairs and gathered around Wakka's drum set. Yuffie and Tidus pushed the keyboard closer. I had my notebook and a pen in hand, guitar strap around my neck and bass resting in my lap.

"Hand it." Leon held his palm out and I gave him my notebook. He looked over the lyrics and then began fingering the frets on his guitar, already thinking a melody through in his head. He was awesome like that. "How about this?" he said. "Ten, ten, eleven, eleven, eight, eight …" He plucked the first two notes on the third string and then the next four on the fourth string. And kept going.

"Hold on, let me write it down!" I snatched my notebook off his knee and took my pen, setting up the pages so I could jot down the tabs. Leon and Seph finished creating the guitar part for the intro and then moved on to the verse. Yuffie started playing along with her keyboard and Wakka backed them up with the drums while I took note of it all. Once they'd established the beginning, I added the bass lines. The singing would come after the instrumental parts were written. Tidus would work it out and decide where Yuffie and I would sing backup.

Piece by piece, our parts came together. After the second verse, Tidus called for us to stop.

"Riku, what if we do this?" he asked. He took the pen and began writing something beneath my lyrics. Once he'd finished, I looked over what he'd done. After the second chorus, where I'd ended, he'd added:

… _one but you._  
… _one but you._

_They found me face-down in the street,  
On the night you left to find another place to sleep,__  
In rain and regret,  
They said they tried everything but it was no use,__  
Yeah they tried everything and everyone but you._

"I like it," I said, smiling up at Tidus. The others agreed. And the music-making continued. By the end of the night, we'd put together a pretty decent song, instrumental only so far. It still needed work, but that could all be saved for another practice. It was almost ten thirty, and I was tired.

"Hey, let's practice our one for the show next week!" Yuffie suggested.

"_The World_?" Tidus asked.

"Yeah."

"I second that motion," I said, raising my hand.

"All right." Tidus stepped up to his mike as we put the chairs away and rearranged ourselves to get ready.

_The World_ was a song I'd written one day after Leon had gotten harassed by some jackasses about being gay. Not a very happy memory for any of us. People can just be so _ignorant_; it disgusts me. And it's not as if Leon was the only gay one. Sephiroth wasn't entirely straight, and I sure as hell wasn't entirely straight. And hey, the song didn't only apply to homosexuality, but to everything: race, gender, religion, etcetera. 'Cause when it came down to it, we were all human, right? Life was too often wasted on prejudice.

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**A/N: **I actually looked up the guitar tabs for that song on the Internet and had my younger brother play them for me to make sure they were right. I couldn't find the bass tabs, though … so I'll have to have my teacher figure them out for me. Yup, I play bass guitar, and my brother plays guitar and a little bass. I can't write lyrics though, otherwise I wouldn't be using other people's lyrics. Not mine, by the way! _Dethbed _is a song by Alkaline Trio. They rock.

Review, ye readers of this fanfiction!


	4. And Found

**Chances in Life**

_ XO'MagickMoon'OX_

**.Chapter IV.** … And Found

**A/N: **Aww thanks so much for your reviews for the last chapter! Every one made me smile.

**-insert amusing name here- **I have answers to your questions! I think I might use _Back To Hell _... but other than that I'm doing songs from other bands, like The Starting Line, Mae, Yellowcard ... I'm really glad that you've heard the songs from Alkaline Trio (I'm assuming you have). I always find that the impact of a songfic is allayed when a reader doesn't know the song, so I'm glad that you know these ones. Oh, and as for your other question, this fic is also LeonxCloud ... so, yes, you will definitely be seeing more of Mr. Strife.

**Novelist**, as usual your reviews made me happy! You go to a Catholic school? Hehe, some of the things I write about the Catholic school in my story'll probably me off... cause I go to public school and had to ask my uncle about the way things are run in Catholic schools (since he'd gone to Catholic school). But yeah, I would imagine being homosexual, even half-homosexual, would suck going to a Catholic school. There are tons of kids at my school who are bi ... my _best friend _is bi. In fact, a lot of my close friends are bi. It's interesting. But I think you might like this story, since you might be able to relate to it more than others. And yes, I know that the 'band' idea has been used many times before, as well as the idea of Riku being a 'sex god' ... eh, just call me unoriginal. But everything comes into play in this story, especially the whole band thing, and ... I just love music. I had to include it! In a lot of ways, Riku's thoughts on music reflect my own, as well as the fact that he plays bass guitar. Oh, hey, and I just noticed ... I made his brother play guitar! And my brother plays guitar! Hehe, funny. Ahem, anyway ... And as for chapter three, yes I figured that Kairi probably could've let Riku know what was going on, or he could've gotten a message to Riku if he'd really tried ... but I needed it to work that way, with Riku not knowing why Sora had seemingly disappeared. And I made that whole part of Sora being grounded from Riku's POV so that readers could just kinda use their imaginations to reason why Sora hadn't contacted him. Kairi was most likely grounded, too ...

So ... yeah, on with the chapter! Enjoy!

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**/Riku's POV/**

"Where could he b_eee?_" I slid down against the counter, momentarily disappearing from the eyes of the customers. If Leon came out and saw no one behind the register, I knew he'd be pissed, but I had no energy left to stand. I hadn't really been getting a lot of sleep lately. I sighed dejectedly. It was Wednesday again, and still no sign from Sora.

I couldn't take this anymore! I had to see him. Sure, I'd only just met him, really, but I just _wanted _him. It was so frustrating.

It was then that I made my decision to find him. If he wouldn't come to me, then I'd go to him.

But where to find him?

I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath.

_"So where do you guys go to school?"_

"_At the local Catholic school."_

Hah! That was it! I'd go find them at their school. I'd just Google the Catholic schools in town and drive there after lunch tomorrow. I only had classes in the morning, and the afternoon was mine.

"Riku, get up here!"

I jumped to my feet at the sound of Leon's angry voice. He watched me with a steady, molten glare. I laughed nervously. He just hmph'ed and went over to attend to a customer.

My day brightened considerably after deciding to seek Sora out.

On Thursday, I drove home after lunch and hopped on my computer. Searching the Internet for the local Catholic schools, I found only one, and figured that was Sora's school. I quickly scribbled down the address and got back in my car. I pulled out of the driveway, looking up through the windshield to the gray sky as I drove down the road. It took me almost twenty minutes to get there, but I was in no hurry. The school let out at three, most likely, so I still had another …

Hour and a half.

Damn, I'd driven all the way down here to sit in my car for an hour and half. What had I been thinking? Well, I suppose I'd just have to make the best of the time, so I pulled my backpack onto my lap and dragged out my books, deciding to do the little bit of homework I had.

By five of three, I was finished. I got out of my car and stretched languidly, stamping my feet to wake up my legs. It was cold, but my black turtleneck and jean jacket kept me warm enough. Kinda. I stalked up through the parking lot and past the buses that were lining up, waiting for the students. I found the main entrance and waited there, leaning against the brick wall.

But would he come out this way? Was there another way he took to leave the school? I prayed to any deity that would listen that I'd find Sora. I _needed _to find him.

The bell rang. Minutes later, students started to flood through exit, each dressed in a pristine maroon-and-gold-and-white uniform, although individualized by their jackets and hats and such, book-bags slung over their shoulders. I waited and watched.

Sora never came.

As the heavy flow of students thinned, my hope started to dwindle. I sighed and pushed off the wall, beginning my trek around the perimeter of the school in a final attempt to locate the inscrutable Sora. I passed the bare trees lining the walls, the various students lingering around the area, all insignificant.

However, there was one person who caught my eye. He was older, that was obvious, with blonde hair spiked up around his head, some falling to frame his face, blue eyes set above proud cheekbones. Simply put, he was gorgeous. I'd wager he was around Leon's age. Hmmm … maybe—

Someone called out. What they'd said, I hadn't heard, but the man, who had been walking from a nearby exit tucked away in a corner of the building, stopped and turned. He smiled and, as I followed his gaze, so did I.

I raced forward and before he could even reach Blondie, my hands were on Sora's shoulders, bringing him flush against me, and my lips were on his, initiating a swift, chaste kiss. Whoa, I don't think either of us had seen that coming. I pulled back to meet his eyes briefly, which were wide with shock, before sliding my hands around him to envelope him, murmuring beside his ear, "I missed you."

"You … I … uh …" He was speechless. He let out an exasperated breath, and then said, "Riku, people are staring."

"Then let them." Wow, I don't ever remember feeling like this before, like I _needed _to hold him, like I _never _wanted to let him go. I could feel my heartbeat beginning to pick up speed and, with a sickening jolt to my stomach, I pulled away and held him by his shoulders at arm's length. There was a wine-colored blush filling his cheeks.

It was then that I noticed Kairi standing beside us.

"Hi!" she chirped, grinning a bit too broadly.

As I opened my mouth to reply, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned to meet angry blue eyes. "Excuse me," the owner of said eyes growled. "Who are you?"

"I'm … uh … Riku Ishiguro," I answered uneasily. Blondie's glare was so like Leon's it was unnerving.

"Do you attend school here?"

"No."

"Then why are you here?"

"I came to see Sora."

"How do you know Sora?"

"What is this?" I snapped. "'Twenty Questions'?"

"Why stop at twenty?"

"Why are you interrogating me?" Gorgeous as he was, Blondie was starting to piss me off.

"Mr. Strife," Sora stepped in, "Riku's just a friend."

Mr. Strife, as I now knew him to be, turned to Sora, his glare softening, though still with a fire smoldering in it's blue depths. "Really," he deadpanned. "Unless Mr. Ishiguro is from a place where friends greet each other with a kiss," I looked away sheepishly and Sora blushed again, "then I'd say he's more than 'just a friend'."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Strife," I inputted, chancing a glance up at him. "I was out of line." Wow, listen to me being all humble. I felt rather proud of myself for that.

"Hn." Mr. Strife turned to Sora, whose blush was beginning to recede. "Did you need to ask me something?" He obviously didn't feel like pressing the matter. Good for him.

Sora looked confused before a light of recognition dawned in his eyes. "Oh, right! Um … in order to raise my grade, is there any extra credit that I could do?"

Mr. Strife smiled fondly. "No, Sora, there is no extra credit. Your grade isn't that bad; you worry too much. But, if you want to raise it, just work harder. You'll be able to pull it up by the end of the marking period. I have faith in you."

Sora sighed. "Thanks, Mr. Strife."

The formidable teacher passed me another look, one that was clearly meant to be a warning, and stepped away. I swear he was just like Leon. If he was like Leon in _every _aspect, then I think I'd just found my oh-so-lonely boss a boyfriend.

But first I'd better fix myself up before I went to play Matchmaker for those two.

"Bye, Mr. Strife!" Kairi waved, giggling as she was wont to do.

He waved over his shoulder before disappearing around the corner.

"So, Riku," Kairi said coyly, "did you say that you came here to see Sora?"

I grinned shamelessly. "Yup."

The Blush was back.

"And how did you know where to find him?" Kairi suppressed a smile and rocked on her heels.

"I did an Internet search."

"So, you … went out of your way to _find Sora_ so that you could _see him again?_"

The Blush intensified.

"Yup."

Kairi lost it then. She began laughing and running around in circles, pirouetting and rejoicing. I chuckled, though I was slightly terrified by her behavior. She came up behind me and put her hands on my shoulders, murmuring, "Desperate, are we, _Riku-sama?_"

Now I was officially terrified, but I couldn't help but laugh at her eccentric behavior.

Sora had now become consumed by The Blush, from his nose to his ears.

"Sora! Kairi!"

Kairi stopped her manic prancing and Sora looked up from his previous studying of the grass. I turned, too, to see a woman coming towards us. She was very pretty, a red trench coat pulled tightly around her against the frosty air, her waist-length brown hair tied into a braid and a red bow knotted at the back of her head. She had the most stunning green eyes I'd ever seen.

"There you are," she said once she'd reached us. "I've been looking for you two." She turned to me and frowned bemusedly. "Who are you?"

"I'm Riku Ishiguro," I replied.

Kairi added, "The guy we met at the mall," with a suggestive arching of the eyebrows. There seemed to be some sort of wordless exchange between them that just went straight over my head.

The woman smiled and said knowingly, "Ah, I see. Well Riku, I'm Aerith Gainsborough, Sora and Kairi's friend and personal chauffeur."

I turned to Kairi in surprise. "You have a chauffeur?"

Kairi laughed. "Not literally; she was kidding." Then, she leaned in and whispered, "She was also Mr. Strife's high school sweetheart."

"Oh _really?_" Hmmm, not good. Maybe he's _not _like Leon in every aspect. But, perhaps … "Now, when you say 'was', you mean, they're not together anymore?"

"Mmhm. That's what I mean." Kairi rocked on her heels again before clapping her hands together and saying, "All right, let's get out of here."

Sora slipped to Aerith's side, but I think she and Kairi are plotting against him, because Aerith pushed Sora next to me. I just took his hand, much like I had in the parking lot the other night. And The Blush returned.

"So where are you guys going?" I asked.

"Well, let's see … it's Thursday, so …" Aerith adopted a thoughtful expression.

"We have to go to work," Kairi said.

"Where do you work?" I asked.

"At the Barnes and Noble in town," Kairi answered. "Sora and I. We work there on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays."

"Mind if I come?"

"Sure!" Kairi was enthusiastic, but Sora was as quiet as ever.

"Do you mind, Sora?" I prompted.

"No, not really."

I squeezed his hand. "Great!"

We piled into Aerith's Jeep Cherokee, with Aerith behind the wheel, Kairi beside her, and Sora and I in the back.

"Oh, my car …" I stopped in the middle of closing the door.

"I'll bring you back to it," Aerith offered.

"Ah, thanks." I settled inside, pulling the door shut.

Aerith started up the engine and pulled out of the parking space. Within minutes we were on the road. Aerith and Kairi began talking quietly in the front seat, seemingly oblivious to us two in the back. But that worked in my favor, so I wasn't complaining.

I glanced at Sora out of the corner of my eye. I stretched suddenly, shifting in my seat so that I could lean back and lay my head in Sora's lap. I knew that he wouldn't object. He jumped, startled out of his reverie, and looked down at me before a faint pink filled his cheeks.

"Uh, Riku …?"

"I really did miss you, ya know," I said quietly, closing my eyes. I hadn't expected this to be so comfortable.

"…"

"Where were you? You didn't call …"

"Did you expect me to?"

"Did Kairi give you my number?"

"Yes."

"Then yes, I did expect you to call."

"I got grounded."

"Oh?" I opened my eyes.

Sora nodded. "The night we saw your band. I came home and got grounded for several offenses."

"Which were …?"

"One: being out late without calling. Two: leaving the mall without calling. Three: leaving the mall with 'a stranger'. Four: getting in a car with 'a stranger'. And five: going to said 'stranger's' house."

"Oh. So, basically you got grounded 'cause of me." Oops.

"It's not your fault," he murmured.

"If you say so."

"So anyway," Sora continued, "my sentence was for two weeks. No _going out_, no computer, and no _phone_. So I couldn't come see you, and I couldn't call."

I sighed, closing my eyes again. "But did you want to?"

"…"

After a few moments of silence, I figured he wasn't answering, either because he didn't want to or because he couldn't. So, I said, "You had me so worried, I wrote a song."

"You … wrote a song?" There was nothing but astonishment in his voice.

"Yup."

"… Am I going to be able to hear it?"

"If you want to." I opened my eyes and met his gaze. This time, he didn't look away. "But that means you'll have to come watch us again."

He smiled softly. "I'd like that."

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Review, I beg of thee, lest my inspiration be depleted.


	5. Love And Lust

**Chances in Life **

_XO'MagickMoon'OX_

**.Chapter V.** Love and Lust

**-insert amusing name here- **I'm so happy that you've heard of the bands I'm using, and that you know their music! Of course, the song I'm using by Yellowcard is from the _Ocean Avenue _album, but with Mae, the song(s) are from _Everglow_. And, with The Starting Line, the songs are from _Based On A True Story_.

**Novelist** ... I have no idea what Riku's last name means, nor Sora's. I just Googled Japanese surnames and picked the ones I liked best ... -**sheepish laughter**- ... and yeah ... but, ack, I hope you feel better soon! Mayhap this chapter shall bring you a little more relief.

And I can't believe that **Slashapalooza **is reviewing my story! Her stories are some of THE best Kingdom Hearts stories on FFN. Everyone must go read them, RIGHT NOW! I command yoouuuuu! Hehe, well ... anyway.

Here's the next chapter, kinda long (gomen), but enjoy!

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**/Sora's POV/**

More had happened in the last twenty minutes than I felt fit to handle. First of all, I'd failed my History test, but that wasn't really what had me so shaken up.

But then …!

But then, Riku had appeared at our school and he'd … he'd _kissed _me! I can't figure him out. And on top of that, he goes around saying things like "I missed you" and "You had me so worried, I wrote a song". I find it hard to believe I've affected him that much. I mean, really … it's not like I'm anything special.

I wonder what the song sounds like …

Okay, anyway … and now … now he's laying with his head in my lap. _His _head in _my _lap. He's been acting like we're long-time lovers or something … when we've only known each other for a couple of weeks! And of those couple weeks, we've only spent two days together … not even two days, two halves of days. All right, well, if I know this, then …

… why can't I seem to stop thinking about him?

It's true, I'd missed him too. He'd been on my mind since last I saw him. It can't be healthy to think about someone so much, someone whom you know almost nothing about. Maybe that's _why _I've been thinking about him. He's a mystery. I just want to know _everything_ about him. His likes, his dislikes, his habits, his beliefs … yeah, I'm hopeless, I know. But, maybe … maybe there is such a thing as "love at first sight"? If not, then what I'm feeling sure is very similar to it.

When next I looked down at him, he seemed to be sleeping. He really was very beautiful. Even though they were closed, I could just picture his eyes, the most amazing color I'd ever seen. I remember, one time when I was younger, taking a trip to a place called Destiny Islands. The water was so breathtakingly gorgeous, so clear and pure, with a color so rich it stuck in my mind from that day on. That's what Riku's eyes were like: the sea. And, I remember going out into the sea one morning and diving headlong into the waves. The current had pulled me under, and I wasn't able to come back up again. I'd almost passed out when my mother had saved me. I had been so scared, so afraid that I'd drown. I feel like that every time I meet Riku's gaze. I feel like I'm going to drown, but …

… I don't think I'm really all that afraid.

I like his hair, too. I've never seen anyone with silver hair … well, at least no one as young as Riku. It suits him, though. It reminds me of the moon. It's like his hair is made from moonlight. It's so pretty … and soft.

"Mmm, that tickles."

"Wha …?" Ack! What was I doing? I was … petting him! In the midst of my musings, I had started unconsciously stroking his head. I could feel heat rising in my cheeks as I froze, going to bring my hand back to my side.

But he reached up and grabbed it, murmuring, "No … don't stop," still apparently half-asleep.

"Huh?" I don't think he knew what he was saying.

"I said … don't stop," he whispered, dozing off again. Maybe he did know what he was saying.

"Uh … okay." I went back to drawing my fingers lazily through his hair.

He laughed softly, his eyes opening half-way, aqua peaking out from beneath thick lashes. "That's my weakness, you know."

"Your … weakness?"

"When people do that, stroke my head like that. I can't help but become completely … defenseless. I don't know why … it just happens. But you're the only one, besides my mother, to figure it out." His eyes slid closed again.

"We're home," Kairi announced suddenly. She turned around in her seat to acknowledge us—a first since we'd gotten in the car—and smiled at us. "Well aren't you two just about the most adorable—"

"Kairi," I cut her off shortly.

"Hey," Riku whined. "Why'd you stop?" He opened his eyes and looked up at me.

"We're home."

"Home?" Riku sat up, blinking tiredly. "But I thought you were going to work."

"We have to change first, silly," Kairi explained. "We can't go to work in our school uniforms."

"Come on, everybody out," Aerith commanded.

Riku slid out of the car, stretching as he stood on my driveway. I got out the other side, slamming the door shut behind me.

As we headed inside, Riku said, "So, do you have a weakness, Sora?" He turned to me with a devilish glint in his eyes. And suddenly, he seemed so different from the guy who had been sleeping in the backseat not more than five minutes ago. He wasn't any worse or any better, just … different. Minutes before, he had been as vulnerable as a baby kitten, and now he was back to being the lion I had first met him as.

"_When people do that, stroke my head like that. I can't help but become completely … defenseless. I don't know why … it just happens. But you're the only one, besides my mother, to figure it out." _

"Sora?"

"Hmm? Oh, well …"

"Hah, does Sora have a weakness?" Kairi suddenly appeared at my side. "Of course he does. But it's not so much a weakness as it is a turn-on spot."

Riku quirked an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"Yeah." Kairi giggled.

"Kairi!" Oh, she better not—

"If you hit it just right," Kairi began to reach up towards my head, but I batted her hands away, "he just snaps and goes completely crazy, gets all aroused."

I can't believe she just … "_Kairi!_"

"And where is this spot?" Riku wondered deviously. We stepped through the front door of my house.

"Oh, you'll just have to find out for yourself." Kairi winked.

I was going to kill her.

"Wait a minute," Riku said suddenly. "Shouldn't you be at your house, Kairi? I mean, since you're changing your clothes and all."

Kairi started up the steps. "Oh no, I keep a few spare outfits here."

Riku blinked. "…" He turned to me inquisitively. "She keeps a few spare outfits here?"

I grinned sheepishly. "Yeah. I guess you could say we're just _really _close friends, almost like siblings. My house is her home-away-from-home, and vice versa."

"Oh."

"Well … uh … I guess you can just wait down—"

"Come on up, Riku!" Kairi called.

I groaned as Aerith stepped inside behind me. "Hurry up, you two! You're going to be late!"

I started up the stairs, and Riku followed, much to my dismay. I felt like letting him into my room was letting him know much more about me on a personal level. I wasn't ready for that. It wasn't fair, since I barely knew anything about him! Well, I knew that he worked at the mall, that he was a senior in high school, that he played bass guitar in a band and wrote most of the songs, that he had an older brother, that his parents were hardly at home, that his "weakness" was people stroking his hair … I guess I knew as much about him as he knew about me. With this thought, I felt a little more at ease bringing him upstairs.

But I was very unprepared to open the door to my room to find Kairi in the middle of changing her shirt. I yelped and shut the door hurriedly, backing up into the hallway. I could hear her giggling inside my room. Did she have any shame at all?

"Kairi!" I shouted. "Lock the door … or something … next time!"

"Hehe, sorry!"

Yeah, right. I turned to Riku, blushing nervously. "S-Sorry about that … Kairi tends to—"

"It's okay," he said. "I didn't see anything." He smiled, and I felt my stomach knot. How he was able to do that with just a smile, I'd never really understand.

"All right, you can come in!" Kairi called.

I gripped the doorknob and turned it, warily peaking inside before stepping all the way into my room, Riku in tow. Kairi was wearing a simple white sweater and blue jeans, smiling cutely.

Kairi motioned for Riku to sit on the chair at my desk, and she plopped down on the edge of my bed, crossing her legs. I opened my drawers and grabbed a pair of jeans and a red T-shirt. I turned and then noticed that I was going to have to change in the bathroom. Just as I'd finished processing this thought, Kairi said, "It's okay Sora, you can change here." I swear she can read minds.

"No, I—"

"Come on, Sora," Kairi insisted. "It's no different than changing for P.E. at school!"

The reason as to why she was being so insistent on this simple matter eluded me, but I decided not to make a big deal out of it and agreed. She began to talk with Riku about inane topics while I pulled off my shirt and began to change out of my suffocating school uniform.

**/Riku's POV/**

Someone up there must love me. Either that, or Kairi loves me. Or both.

I kept my cool exterior while talking with Kairi, although inside I was a bundle of nerves waiting to explode. If Kairi noticed me sneaking glances at Sora, she didn't say anything, and Sora wouldn't look at me, so I don't think he noticed, either. But Sora … damn, he was hot! His skin looked so smooth, pulled taut over a sound chest, the faint outline of a toned abdomen visible across his stomach, his boxer shorts falling low on his hips. It took ever ounce of self-control I contained within myself to keep from pouncing on him right then a there and screwing him senseless.

Kairi was still babbling on in my left ear while I tried to keep my mouth closed, lest I start to drool, and nodded occasionally or hummed thoughtfully, pretending to listen to her. Boy, that girl could go on and on. But I had a sneaking suspicion that her chatter was more an attempt to make Sora feel comfortable than to actually talk to me.

Finally, Sora had changed his outfit, now dressed in a rather tight, red T-shirt and pair of faded blue jeans. He grabbed a sweatshirt from his closet and tugged it over his head, mussing his already wild hair. He grinned that goofy grin of his that was just so adorable.

"Ready?"

I stood and nodded.

As if on cue, Aerith called up the stairs, "Guys, hurry up!"

"Coming!" Kairi replied in a singsong voice.

We headed down the stairs and grabbed our jackets before slipping out the door and piling back into Aerith's car.

"How far away is Barnes and Noble?" I asked.

"Oh, about fifteen minutes," Kairi said from the front.

I laid back and nestled my head in Sora's lap again. "Good."

Sora just blushed and looked out the window. Once we'd gotten on the road, he began absentmindedly stroking my head again, and I almost fell asleep. If we hadn't arrived when he did, I know I would've dozed off. I just don't understand why I find it so … soothing, so comforting, when people do that. I feel like it knocks down all of the walls I tend to build around myself, and I'm just so at ease. And when _Sora _does it … oh God, I don't know what comes over me. I can't describe it, but it's amazing.

The Barnes and Noble where Sora and Kairi worked wasn't all that grand, but more quaint and cozy. There was the typical café off to one side, I noticed as we entered, and then the section with all of the CD's and DVD's, etcetera, off to the other side. Everything else was nothing but books, books, and more books.

"All right, well," Kairi said, "we work up at the café. Our break is in an hour, so …"

"I'll just hang around until then," I offered with a smile.

Kairi grinned. "Great! Well, off we go." She hooked her arm in Sora's and turned around a nearby bookshelf. I turned the other way and headed towards the music.

The minutes passed slowly, and by the time I'd moved on, there was still nearly a half-hour left before their break. As I made my way down an aisle, idly glancing at the book titles, I bumped into something … or someone, rather, who gave a very indignant yelp.

"Hey, watch it!" the person snapped.

"Oh, sorry …" My voice trailed off as I met a pair of stormy, blue eyes. I'd seen them somewhere … this person … blonde hair, round face … something was desperately trying to click in my head.

"Well, well," she sneered. "Look who it is."

Oh, I _did _know her! I'd dated her! What was her name? N… something. "Nicole?" I guessed.

She glared. Nope, wrong name.

"Nancy?"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" the girl—whose name was not Nicole nor Nancy—demanded. "You're such an ass!"

"Uh …"

"You don't even remember my name!" She looked hurt, very hurt, and her eyes were brimming with angry tears. Oops.

"I'm … sorry?" I honestly didn't care. She was cute, a good kisser—if I remembered correctly, and one on a long list of conquests. I couldn't be bothered to remember _all _of their names. I was much better with physical identification.

"Ugh! I can't _stand _you!" she shouted, stomping on my foot.

"Ow!" I winced, hissing in pain as she pushed past me.

"Asshole!" she called over her shoulder.

I gritted my teeth, trying to will the pain in my toe away, growling, "Vindictive … little … bitch."

With the life I led, I tended to make more enemies than friends. Everyone in school knew of my reputation. I was admired and revered, but those who knew me on a more intimate level generally tended to hate me. My foot still hurt—case in point.

Within another minute or so, the pain had ebbed. I continued to aimlessly meander through the store as my mind launched into a gray swirl of thoughts. Yeah, most of _them_ hated me, those who I'd played around with and dumped liked yesterday's trash, but there were some who still claimed to "love" me. They still claimed to love me after I'd used them inside and out until I bored myself and left them for someone else. I received letters from them, phone calls, e-mails, Valentine's Day cards, little tokens of affection. Pft. Love. I couldn't understand why people bothered to lend their minds to the belief that someone else completes them, the belief that there's some person out there that belongs to them, that belongs with them. It was nonsense.

I passed by a row of dictionaries and plucked one off the shelf, flipping through the crisp pages.

_Love_ (lŭv) n 1. _A deep, tender, ineffable feeling of affection and solicitude toward a person, such as that arising from kinship, recognition of attractive qualities, or a sense of underlying oneness._

Sheer nonsense.

Ruffling through the book again, I stopped on another page.

_Lust_ (lŭst) n 1. _Intense or unrestrained sexual craving._

That's more like it. Love is a myth. Lust is the cold, hard reality of the world. That was my philosophy, and I'd stick by it until the end of my days.

I replaced the dictionary and checked my cell phone for the time. They'd be on break in another ten minutes. I started up to the café. I made my way across the floor to the counter. Kairi was busy squirting whipped cream on top of someone's drink, her back turned to me. Sora was ringing the customer up, smiling as he spoke. He was wearing a green apron with a name tag pinned to the corner, "Sora" scrawled across in a handwriting that I thought was cute, neat and round, like a girl's handwriting.

I stood in line behind the man that Sora and Kairi were serving, looking up at the selection. Might as well order something.

"Have a nice day, sir," I could hear Sora say to the customer.

"You too." He took his drink and walked away to the little table set up with straws, napkins, cream and sugar and everything else people needed to suit their needs.

I stepped up and grinned, leaning my elbows on the counter. Sora took an unconscious step back, surprise flickering through his eyes. "H-Hi," he stuttered.

"Hey," I replied easily.

Kairi bounced to Sora's side. "Hi'ya, Riku! Having fun?"

"I am now," I answered, my eyes trained on Sora's. He blushed lightly.

"You … You want something?" Sora asked.

"Sure." I looked up over his head at the selection again. "Uh … small decaf latte?"

"Right away." Kairi disappeared behind Sora again and prepared my order.

"So, you guys almost done?" I asked as Sora told me the cost and pulled out my wallet.

"Yup. Just another two or three minutes … about."

"How long do you get?"

"Eh … half-hour."

"You wanna go out then?"

"Out of … the store?"

"Yeah, just walk around. Get some air."

"Uh … okay."

I smiled. "Good."

"Here, Riku." Kairi appeared again and handed me my drink.

"Thanks. Oh, me and Sora are gonna go outside during your break, Kairi."

Kairi's eyebrows arched. "Alone?"

"Uh … well … I wasn't planning on it—" a lie "—but …"

Kairi seemed to catch on to the message I was trying to get across. "Ah … uh … I was gonna …" She turned to one of her coworkers, who was standing off to the side—a brown-haired girl with large, green eyes. "I was gonna hang with Selphie." She grinned, wrapping her arm around poor Selphie's neck in an over-enthusiastic gesture. "So you two will just have to go without me."

"But, Kairi …"

"Sorry Sora, but you know, I promised Selphie—"

"Promised me what?"

"That I'd hang with you during our break, silly! Don't you remember? You … had a question on the Math homework."

"I did?"

"Yes, you did." Kairi gave Selphie a look, and a silent exchange seemed to pass between them.

Selphie brightened. "Oh … oh! Right!" She giggled.

"All right, well …" Sora bit his lip uneasily. "I guess we'll just go then." He slipped his apron off and disappeared through a door some ways off to the left, reappearing with his jacket in hand.

I smiled, taking a sip of my latte. "Come on, then!"

We stepped away from the café and started towards the entrance. Sora pulled the jacket around him, poking his arms through the sleeves and zipping it up to his chin.

It wasn't as cold as I'd expected outside, though the sky was painted a pearly gray. I took a deep breath. I always loved the smell of fresh air. It made me feel so alive. I turned to Sora, who was watching the sky, his arms wrapped around him.

"I think it's gonna snow," he muttered.

"Yeah, I think so too. Hey, maybe we'll have a snow day!" I said excitedly, trying to spur some reaction.

Sora shrugged. "Maybe."

I took another sip of my latte before putting it on the ledge of the window and taking Sora's arm. "Come on," I said.

"Wh-Where are we going?"

"For a little walk."

I pulled him around the corner to the side of the building. There was a Bed, Bath, and Beyond right next to Barnes and Noble, leaving a little alleyway-like space between the two. It was bathed in shadow, though light still penetrated the area, casting faint shadows askew. It was quiet and deserted. There didn't seem to be many people out today.

"What are we doing?" Sora asked.

I didn't answer right away, but turned to him, looking him straight in the eye. I again had the fleeting sensation of suffocating in his rich, blue eyes that so resembled the summer sky. My eyes fell down to his lips, and I remembered that little kiss I had given him back at his school. It hadn't even been much of a kiss, just slightly beyond a peck, an affectionate greeting. Glancing back up to meet his gaze, the sense of _needing _him came over me again, and I grabbed his shoulders, pushing him gently against the wall.

He started. "R-Riku?"

"Can I kiss you?" It tumbled so easily out of my mouth, as if it had been resting behind my lips for some time now, this simple, yet heavy request. But immediately I felt heat rise in my cheeks.

Sora's eyes had widened and he'd looked away, his eyes flickering with uncertainty. And, for the first time in my life, I felt afraid of being rejected.

"If … If you don't want to … it's okay," I whispered, my heart hammering painfully in my chest, slowly cracking, preparing to shatter. It felt so strange.

"It's not that," he murmured. "I just … I don't know how."

I nearly laughed, but caught myself. "You don't know how to kiss?"

He shook his head, blushing fiercely.

I reached up with one hand and cupped his cheek, turning his head to look at me, feeling the heat in his face contrast against my icy fingers. "It's okay," I said softly, a smile breaking across my countenance, pressing my forehead against his. "I'll teach you."

He nodded, his mouth hanging open slightly as he tilted his head up towards mine, eyes closing. I leaned in and slowly pressed my lips against his. He jumped, and I could feel him tremble, but I remained patient and coaxed him with my mouth, moving my lips against his, encouraging him to kiss back. After a moment, he caught on and began to mimic my movements, tentatively and awkwardly.

But, oh, it was so perfect! It felt as if our mouths were _made _for each other, fitting together like puzzle pieces. He tasted so sweet and delicate, and his lips were so soft, almost effeminate. I wanted to devour him with my kiss, but I restrained myself, knowing that if I moved too fast, I'd scare him. I moved my one hand from his shoulder to his chest and could feel his heart beating a mile a minute. I smiled into the kiss, ignoring the fact that my own heart was beating just as fast.

We parted all too soon. But I was determined to take things slow. He was already out of breath, face flushed. He looked up at me, dazed. I was still smiling. He reached up and brushed his lips with his fingertips. I stroked his cheek with my thumb before moving my hand down to meet his hand at his mouth, taking it into both of mine and raising it to my lips. He blushed deeper as I gently kissed his fingers.

"You're not bad," I whispered, my smile quirking into something of an amused smirk.

He took a shuddering breath, finally smiling himself.

"Can I … kiss you again?" I requested, releasing his hand.

He laughed softly and nodded, wrapping his arms around my neck and leaning against me, breaking away from the wall. I grabbed his waist, leaning down to capture his lips again. This time, he responded immediately, no longer trembling. I decided to take it a step further and ran my tongue along his bottom lip earnestly. He gasped, and I took the opportunity to slip my tongue inside. He immediately adjusted to the intrusion, battling my tongue with his, sighing in rapture.

I would never admit it, but I think that the most amazing kiss I'd ever had was with Sora. I didn't understand why, though. There was nothing all that great about the way he kissed, no better than anyone else. But maybe there was just something about kissing _him _that made it seem so much more …. magical.

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Review please! Reviews are the fuel that keep my creative fire burning!


	6. The Fashion Consultants

**Chances in Life**

_XO'MagickMoon'OX_

**.Chapter VI.** The Fashion Consultants

**A/N: **Sankyu soooooooo much to everyone who answered meh questions! Everything has been cleared up. Pretteh much. I think. Anyway.

So glad **Novelist **is finally feeling better; sucks to be loaded with so much work. And, about Lulu, ... ehheh, sorry, she's not gonna be in the story. As much as I love her, too, she's technically not in KH, and even though this is an AU and it would be okay to include her, I'm trying to stick as closely as I can to the KH setting, characters, etc. But, I am thinking about writing another KH that will totally star Lulu. She has a BIG part. Tis a vampire story; how could one not include the Gothic puppet-master that is Lulu? Anyway, enough rambling, I shall be patient in awaiting your updates. And, of course, thanks so much for the great reviews! (I don't think I can say that enough!)

And for **-insert amusing name here- **... well, you don't really have any questions I need to answer, but I just want to give you a special thanks for your awesome reviews. I love it when readers take the time to actually write a good review, so yours always make me happy, how you take time to actually really _comment _on the story. So, thanks again!

To **astroalchemist**, I'm glad you like Alkaline Trio. They are a kick-ass band! Did you know that one of the singers has a lisp? Matt Skiba - teh bassist - yes, he has a lisp, and he still sings! That amazes me. :D Anyway, I'm also just happy that you listened to the songs that I used. I've said it before, that I think not knowing the song(s) in a songficcie thing ruin the effect of the story ... and I'm just uber-happy that you've heard the songs I used. Iff'n ya want a heads up, the other bands I'm going to use are **Mae **(The Everglow), **The Starting Line **(Based On A True Story), and **Yellowcard **(Ocean Avenue). They'll all have songs in the next chapter. So I'm kinda nervous about it ... I'm afraid it will have too many songs that people dun know and they won't like teh chapter. But... oh well. Anyway, and thankies for the review!

And I'm soooo glad that everyone's basically picked up on the fact that Riku's in total denial about how he feels about Sora. I was planning on explaining it somewhere, like making it totally and completely crystal-clear that the reason Riku's acting the way he is is 'cause he's in denial, but then that would kinda ruin the whole effect of the story. I feel a lot of times that I can't express my characters' feelings well enough and things get way too confusing, and then I end up trying to make my points way too obvious and it ruins the whole story. Well, anyway, on with the chapter!

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**/Sora's POV/**

We broke away and Riku smiled down at me, my stomach doing that flip-flop thing again. It did that every time he smiled.

"It's kind of cold," I said. "Maybe we should go back inside now."

Riku smirked. "I can warm you up." He leaned in again, but I twirled away, giggling.

"Come on, now," I chided playfully. "I have to be getting back soon."

Riku pulled his phone out of his pocket, consulting the time. "But you still have … almost twenty minutes left!" He stowed it back away in his pants and grinned deviously.

I furrowed my brow. "Yeah, well …"

He took a step towards me, and I expected to feel his lips on mine again. But instead, he wrapped his arms around me, resting his chin on my head. It kind of irked me that I was short enough that he could do that, but at the moment I guess it didn't really matter. I felt so safe and so warm like that, in his embrace. I closed my eyes, leaning into his chest.

"Still cold?" he whispered.

"No." The seconds ticked by as we stood there in the quiet shadows of the alleyway-type thing between Barnes and Noble and Bed, Bath, and Beyond. But I broke it, asking, "Riku?"

"Hmm?"

"Does this make us … you know … boyfriend and … boyfriend?" I felt so childish then, and immediately my cheeks filled with that unwanted heat.

He chuckled, which made me blush deeper. Then, he said, "Do you want to be?"

I nuzzled my nose into his collarbone, nodding with a muffled, "Yes."

"Then yes, we are."

I smiled to myself. "Good." There was a certain uneasiness that stirred in my stomach at the thought, but I willed it away for the time being.

If I'd had any sense about me then, I probably would have thought that this was all moving too fast. I mean, I'd really only just met Riku, although it felt like I'd known him forever. Then again, nothing really made sense when it concerned Riku. Like how he had chosen me, of all the gorgeous people he could've picked from—he'd chosen me. I wasn't anything special, while he was a god, the manifestation of perfection. I was inexperienced when it came to relationships, while it was evident that Riku was _very _experienced. That had been my first kiss! And this was my first boyfriend! (I'd never had a girlfriend either). He was also a musical genius, a talented individual, and he was charming, witty, confident—everything that I wasn't. So why had he chosen _me? _Plain, inexperienced, untalented Sora Tsukada, boyfriend of the living deity that was Riku Ishiguro. It made absolutely no sense.

And suddenly, as he pulled back and watched me with those breathtakingly beautiful eyes, smiling faintly, it didn't seem to matter so much. He took my hand and pulled me out of the alley, into the blunt sunlight. Smirking, he grabbed my ass, which sent an excited jolt through my stomach. I laughed, blushing madly, and ran up to the doorway, Riku in pursuit. Before I could pull the door open, he practically pounced on me, taking me back into his arms and kissing my forehead, almost knocking us both to the ground. I was out of breath again, laughing uncontrollably, suddenly unexplainably giddy. He stepped away and grabbed his decaf latte that was still sitting on the window ledge, waiting for him, and took a sip, smirking around the straw.

I took a deep breath to steady myself, gathering what little composure I contained, and pulled the door open, trying to push my cinnamon spikes, which had been mussed by my recent antics, back into place. I guess it didn't matter; they were always a mess anyway.

We were greeted by the warmth of the store as we stepped inside, the usual soft din filling the air, riding on the aromas that wafted from the café. I spotted a shock of red hair peeking out from a shelf, indigo eyes widening as I caught them spying, disappearing instantly into the aisle. Immediately a relatively loud bout of giggles broke out from within that particular aisle.

"Looks like someone was watching us," Riku whispered, the amusement clear in his voice.

I knew what he meant. The entire front wall of Barnes and Noble was a window, so anyone looking down the center of the store to the front would be able to see outside. Obviously, Kairi had caught us messing around outside. No doubt she'd put the pieces together. As we came upon the manga aisle, I could tell by her smile that she had. Selphie was sitting beside her on a little footstool and immediately hid behind the copy of _Gravitation _she was reading, stifling her giggle.

Riku eyed the manga title and groaned. "Yaoi fangirls? No wonder …"

I laughed.

"So, you two have … fun?" Kairi asked, trying to make her voice even but failing miserably as a giggle broke through her words.

Selphie didn't even try to pretend she was oblivious. "You guys are so ADORABLE!" She jumped to her feet and immediately crushed us in a tight embrace, one arm around each of our necks. She turned to me and pecked me on the cheek, saying, "It's about time! I thought you'd _never _find a boyfriend."

"Selphie!" I hissed. "Not so loud."

She pulled back and looked me in the eye, her expression solemn for a split-second before she grinned. "Hehe, sorry!"

But during that split-second, something foul had sunk into my gut. We both knew what was meant by that look.

But I could worry about it later. If no one knew, no harm done, right …?

"Well," Riku checked the time again, "I think I better get going."

"I'll call Aerith to pick you up and take you back to the school," Kairi offered, pulling out her own cell phone and stepping away to dial.

"Okay, thanks." Riku turned to me. "Oh, hey," he said, "our band's playing in this show at our school, 'Battle of the Bands'. You guys want to come?"

He'd said "you guys", but he'd never once looked away from me.

"Yeah! That'd be totally awesome!" Selphie chirped. "Sora and Kairi had told me you were in this amazing band. When is it?"

He turned to her, then, saying, "It's tomorrow night at seven until ten."

"Okay, we'll be there!"

He turned back to me. I nodded, smiling. "Sounds great!"

Kairi appeared then, saying, "Aerith is on her way. She'll be here in about five minutes."

"All right," Riku answered, "I'll go wait outside." Before leaving, he leaned in and gave me a quick kiss, and, pulling back, said, "We'll play that song I about you."

I flushed happily, smiling wider than I thought possible. "I'd love that."

He passed me a trademark, charming smile and turned to leave. "I'll call you."

I nodded. And then he made his way down the middle of the store and out the door, and I saw him stand on the curb as he finished up his latte and waited.

"Come on Sora, we have to get back to work," Kairi said to me, taking my arm and pulling me back to the café. I nodded, only vaguely aware of my surroundings as I was dragged from my spot. Soon, we were out of the center aisle, and there were bookshelves blocking my view of my boyfriend.

... Wow, I have a boyfriend.

---

**/Riku's POV/**

As I drove home that evening, my thoughts were filled with Sora. Sora, Sora, Sora, Sora. He was amazing. Just being with him … I felt like I was floating. I don't ever remember feeling this way before. Well—how long had it been since I'd last been in a relationship?—I reasoned with myself. I'd wager at least two months. That was a long time, by my standards. I suppose the thought of finally being with someone again sated my overactive libido. Or rather, the thought of what being with someone would escalate to, eventually. I idly wondered what Sora was like in bed. He was undoubtedly a virgin, but that didn't matter much. I could always teach him.

I drummed my fingers on the steering wheel as I drove down my street. Pulling into the driveway, I started going over the bass lines for _Dethbed_. I think I'd done pretty good on them; they sounded great with the song. I'd ask Seph if he wanted to practice a little tonight. He should be back from work by now …

I jumped up the stairs to my room and grabbed my bass as I stepped through the door and threw my keys on my desk. I turned on the lights and flipped the switch on the amp, pulling the bass strap over my shoulder and thinking through the music again. It started out with the keyboard, and then the rest of the instruments came in.

The sound blared through the amp as I played four eighth notes on B flat, followed by four on C sharp, and then eight on F sharp. As I played through the intro, Sephiroth appeared in my doorway, leaning on the frame and watching me. I smiled in greeting.

I stopped after the intro. In first few seconds of the verse, there was no keyboard or bass. Seph spoke then.

"Sounds good."

"… Thanks. Wanna join?"

Seph seemed to think for a moment before agreeing, and appeared a few minutes later with his guitar. I had an extra amp in my room, and he plugged into it. We started playing, my bass harmony underlying his melodic chords, each complimenting the other. Music was awesome like that, a compilation of melodies and harmonies and rhythms, all coming together to flow into a song. It was really amazing. I'd always loved music, ever since I'd first saw Seph pick up a guitar and learn to play. A few years later, I'd started playing bass, and we began to write duets. Then, in middle school, I'd met Wakka and Tidus, and Seph had met Leon and Yuffie in high school. Together, we'd formed a band. We were pretty awful at first, but after playing with each other for a few years, we'd begun to develop a style and compose fairly decent songs.

Tidus, Wakka, Yuffie, Leon, and Seph were pretty much the only real friends I had. Sure, I had other friends, other acquaintances, admirers, stalkers, and quite a few enemies, but when it came down to it, the only people who I felt I could trust and confide in were my band-mates. They were my best friends.

We finished the song and sat down on my bed. I laid back, my guitar on my stomach, and sighed contentedly, staring up at the ceiling.

"So, what happened?"

I picked my head up to look at Seph. "With what?"

"With … whatever. You seem … happy."

"Don't I generally seem happy?"

Sephiroth sighed tiredly. "Well … I don't suppose 'happy' is the best word. More like … delighted, giddy, satisfied … something along those lines."

I smiled. Seph really knew me better than anyone. He could read my moods like a book. I said, "Sora," as if it was a sufficient answer.

"What about him?"

"I kissed him."

"… That's it? That's why you're all aglow?"

"Uh … yeah. He agreed to be my boyfriend."

"But … you only kissed? That's a bit _chaste_ for you. Generally it takes something a bit … more … to put you in this mood." Then, as an afterthought, he amended, "Actually, even something a bit more wouldn't put you in this mood. You're just … You look like a love-struck teenager. You have this dreamy glaze to your eyes." He leaned over me, meeting my gaze, as if confirming his analysis.

I sat up, forcing him to sit back, and frowned. "'Love-struck'? Feh, yeah, okay." Love-struck. Like I'd ever be "love-struck".

Seph chuckled dryly. "Oh, that's right, you 'don't believe in love'." His tone was mocking.

I scowled at him. "No, I don't."

"And yet … here you are, walking on air because of a kiss."

"I'm not 'walking on air'! And I'm not in love. I don't fall in love. There's no such thing as love!"

Seph ran a hand over his face wearily. "How did my little brother ever get to be this way?" he asked himself.

I shrugged, laying back again. "Mom and Dad might know …" I muttered.

"I just don't understand," Seph continued, ignoring my comment, "how you can be so open-minded, so idealistic, so creative and passionate, but not believe in love."

"There are only two things I'm passionate about in life: music and sex. And I'm open-minded and idealistic about humanity."

"Humanity?"

"Yeah, uh … like I believe in … liberty and human rights. I think everyone should be free to do as they wish. … I think prejudice is moronic, and I think people who are closed-minded are just trying to avoid reality."

"And yet … you're closed-minded when it comes to love."

I, again, scowled at him.

"Don't deny it, little brother. You're a walking contradiction."

I just sat up and began plucking away at my bass, ignoring him. After a moment, though, I said, "Just because you might be right doesn't mean I'm going to change my beliefs."

"And therein lies your greatest flaw."

"Pft. Whatever."

Seph got up and unplugged his guitar, winding the cable around his arm and going to leave. "You know," he said, "in literature, there's something called a 'tragic hero'—"

"Where are you going with this?"

"A tragic hero is a character who suffers because of a flaw. A 'tragic flaw' is the weakness of a tragic hero, some error or misjudgment that they make that always leads to their ruin or downfall, usually their death."

"Seph—"

"I learned that in ninth grade, when we studied _drama_ in Literature. Shakespeare and all that."

"Yeah, we learned that, too, but …"

He turned around and stepped out. I looked down at my lap and focused on my instrument as I heard his footsteps recede down the hallway.

---

**/Sora's POV/**

"_I'm sorry, guys, I just can't take you tonight_," Aerith said over the phone, her voice sounding around my room. We had her on speakerphone.

"But _Aerith!_" Kairi whined.

"_Kairi, I can't. I have a date_."

"With who?" Kairi demanded.

"_With _none of your business."

"But it's Riku's concert!" Kairi persisted.

There was a muffled sigh from the speaker, before Aerith said, "_What about your parents?_"

"My parents are going out to dinner," I said.

"And my parents are working," Kairi grumbled.

I was beginning to lose hope. How would we get to the show tonight? I wasn't going to miss it. There was no way I was going to miss it!

"_What about Selphie's parents?_"

"They're on vacation. Selphie's home alone this weekend," Kairi said.

"_Why don't you ask Riku to take you?_" Aerith suggested.

"We can't get a hold of him," I explained. "He won't pick up the phone."

"He's probably at Leon's practicing," Kairi said. I nodded.

"_Well … what if I call Cloud and see if he'll take you? He's probably free tonight_," Aerith offered.

Kairi and I grinned broadly. "Would you do that?" Kairi asked.

"_Of course. You know he'd jump on a chance to get out and do something on a Friday night_."

"Yeah, that sounds like him," I said, laughing.

"_All right, I'll call you back in a minute._" There was a click, and then the dial tone began buzzing through the speaker. Kairi turned it off, and silence encompassed my bedroom.

"God bless her!" Kairi jumped in the air excitedly. I nodded in agreement. It seemed we'd be getting to the show after all.

Sure enough, Aerith called back soon after saying that Mr. Strife would be picking us up at six thirty. We praised her with thanks before dialing Selphie and relaying the plan to her. She said she'd be over in ten minutes to get ready with us. I had a feeling that she and Kairi were plotting something behind my back, but then again, they always were.

And I was right, as I usually was when it came to my friends. No sooner had Selphie stepped through the door at five after six than the two of them were dragging me to my room and pushing me down on the bed, looking me up and down calculatingly. They traded glances and nodded, and then Kairi went over to my dresser and started pulling clothes out, tossing them haphazardly across my bed behind me.

"What are you guys doing?" I asked.

"Dolling you up for the show! You gotta look good for your new boyfriend." Selphie winked an emerald eye, brushing her brown locks out of her face. She, herself, was already dressed for the concert in a pair of dark jeans and a green sweater, the collar of which circled her shoulders. The gold cross she always wore was hanging around her neck, glittering in the light of my room. Her face was accented with make-up, bringing out her already-prominent eyes, her lips and cheeks tinted with reds and pinks.

Turning to Kairi, I realized that she had yet to get ready, but I seemed to be next to get dressed up. Oh boy, this was going to be interesting.

There was suddenly a pair of jeans tossed in my face. I held them out in front of me, observing the curved, narrow cut, the somewhat wider waist, and came to a startling conclusion. "Kairi, these are _your _jeans!"

Kairi beamed. "I know. Try them on."

"What! But … they won't fit me! They'll be too tight and …" The look on the girls' faces told me that they were _meant _to be tight. "No! I'm _not _going to wear your jeans, Kairi!"

"Aw, come on, at least _try_ them on!" Kairi urged.

I sighed audibly. "Fine, but that does _not _mean that I'm wearing them!"

Selphie giggled. "We'll see."

I pulled off my uniform pants and tugged on the jeans. They were tight around my thighs and pinched a little in the crotch, stretching across my ass. I winced as I zipped and buttoned them, wriggling to get comfortable, trying to smooth my boxers down through the denim so they didn't bunch. I glanced at the mirror and protested. "I. Am. Not. Wearing. These!"

Kairi laughed. "But you look great Sora!"

"Yeah, Riku's gonna be drooling over you," Selphie agreed. "You just look so … molestable."

"First of all, 'molestable' isn't a word, and second of all, I don't want to look 'molestable'!" My face paled at the thought.

"Aww, Sora you're no fun!" Kairi whined, pouting.

"But," Selphie stepped around me, "as your official fashion consultants, we're going to have to insist that you wear those. Along with … this!" Selphie grabbed a shirt out of my closet and flung it at me.

I held it out in front of my face and looked it up and down. It was a black, button-front shirt, pressed collar and all.

"Put it on!" Kairi urged.

I scowled but stripped off my uniform jacket and shirt, slipping my arms through the holes of the black top. I buttoned it up to the collar. It was a bit small; I'd had it since eighth grade (not that I'd really grown all that much since then). But the sleeves, somehow, still came down to my knuckles, although the cut was snug everywhere else.

"Wait," Kairi said. She stepped forward and undid four buttons up from the bottom and two down from the top. I had a sneaking suspicion that this didn't make me any less 'molestable'. Taking a look in the mirror, I confirmed my assumption.

"G_uys!_" I whined. "I look so gay!"

"Sora, you are gay," Selphie deadpanned.

"You know what I meant!" I snapped, flushing.

"You look fine. All you need is … this." Kairi fished around in one of my drawers and pulled out a studded belt that I hadn't even been aware I owned. "Remember when we bought it?" she asked. "It was like … five years ago!"

Oh right, that one time years ago when we'd taken a brief trip to Hot Topic (a store which I had a feeling I'd be visiting much more from now on). Kairi had told me to buy it, the day she had dubbed herself my "official fashion consultant". Selphie had later joined as my other "consultant". I always tried to ignore what was implied by the mere fact that they thought I needed consultants.

I pulled the belt through the loops on my—Kairi's—jeans and buckled it, trailing my fingers across the metal studs in the thick material before turning again to the mirror. "Happy?" I asked the ever-persistent girls.

"Not yet!" Selphie chirped. She reached into her pocket and brought out a black, leather strap that very much resembled a dog collar. "Put this on!"

"What!" This was going a little too far. She pushed the strap into my hands and, with one threatening look, willed me to buckle it around my neck. I did so, finding that the leather was surprisingly soft and fit snugly. And, consulting the mirror yet again, I found that it didn't actually look half-bad.

I turned to the girls, exasperated. "Done?"

Kairi disappeared into my bathroom and returned with a tube of gel, squirting some into her hands and then raking it through my hair, placing my natural spikes a bit more tactfully. Then, disappearing once more to rinse of her hands, she returned and appraised me with Selphie at her side.

"I think he looks good. You?" Kairi turned to her partner in crime.

Selphie grinned. "Perfectly molestable!"

I grimaced. But, I guess other than the fact that my pants were a bit too tight for comfort, I wasn't all that unhappy about the way I looked. Then again, I was never really thrilled with my appearance—far from it—but, still … they had done a decent job.

Soon, Kairi had readied herself with a thigh-length, pleated skirt and a tight, purple sweater, accentuating her facial features with make-up and running a few hair-care products through her short, red mane. Just as we came down the stairs and grabbed our jackets, a horn honked outside, and we jumped out the door, piling into Mr. Strife's car. Well, we actually called him by his first name when not in school: Cloud. He was a friend of our parents'—mine, Kairi's, and Selphie's—so we'd known him long before he'd been our teacher. We'd known him before he'd even _become _a teacher.

I guess I also had a deeper relationship with him because of the fact that he was bisexual and had to put up with all of the homophobes in our school, like me. Of course, no one knew we were gay (or partly, in his case), although there were already rumors circulating around my reputation. Cloud was pretty much safe, because everyone knew of his old relationship with Aerith. Even so, he was able to empathize with me, and so his friendship with me was a little stronger than it was with either Kairi or Selphie.

"So you know where we're going, Cloud?" Kairi asked, leaning forward from the backseat beside Selphie.

"Yeah, the public high school," Cloud answered, looking at the girls in the rearview mirror. "Right?"

Kairi beamed. "Yup."

"Well, you guys all look great," he said. "Especially you, Sora … you look … different. I suppose those two she-devils in the back are responsible?"

We all laughed. "Yeah," I said. "They are totally to blame."

"Well," Selphie cut in, "we _had _to fix him up, even if just a little bit. He has to look good for his boyfriend!"

The car jerked as Cloud reflexively hit the break. However, he soon regained his composure and murmured an apology, before casting a brief glance my way, not wanting to take his eyes off the road. I was trying to disappear into the seat, sliding down low. "You have a boyfriend?" he asked.

I nodded sheepishly.

Cloud's blue eyes narrowed. "Who?"

"Uh … Riku," I answered.

Even though it was dark, I could sense Cloud's hands tightening around the steering wheel. "You mean that punk who came to see you yesterday?"

I nodded tentatively again.

The car was silent for a minute. Then Cloud sighed and said, "Well … uh … that's great, I guess."

"Cloud, don't worry!" Kairi reassured. "He's a really nice guy."

"Hn." He obviously wasn't so convinced. I guess you could say Cloud was like an older brother to us, a somewhat overprotective older brother. I suppose he was kind of like our Leon, considering what Riku had told us about his taciturn boss.

Soon, we'd arrived at the school. Cloud pulled into a space in the almost-full parking lot. There were kids heading up to the entrance, the lights on the sidewalk illuminating the way. We piled out, Cloud locking up behind us, and began weaving around the cars, starting towards the school.

A flame of excitement flared in my gut as a smile automatically broke across my face, all just at the thought of seeing Riku again and hearing the song he wrote for me.

---

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**TBC**

**A/N: **Oh, and does anyone know who the mysterious girl with a grudge against Riku from the last chapter was? Cookies for anyone who knows! And can anyone sense what might happen later, with Sora? Note the forshadowng. :D

Critique, comment, flame ... anything! Revieweth, I beseech thee.


	7. The Show

**Chances in Life**

_XO'MagickMoon'OX_

**.Chapter VII.** The Show

**A/N: ** -**dodges the rotten fruit being thrown at her by angry readers**- So sorry it's taken me so long to update! I hit a road-block, which **Novelist **helped me overcome. Thanks so much for beta-ing and giving me your opinions. :D -**glomps ch00 and gives ch00 a big cookie**-

For **-insert amusing name here-**, yes, the blonde girl (not Nicole nor Nancy) was Naminé. And for getting it right, you also get a cookie:D -**hand ch00 cookie**- And yes, I think we should phone the dictionary-people (who may or may not exist...) and tell them to recognize "molestable" as a word. I like that word, too. Hehehe. XD And as for the whole "tragic hero" thing, I did get that from my English class. We were studying terms and stuff before we read _Julius Caesar_. That was a good play. :) And though your guess on the foreshadowing was, of course, completely wrong, it was still freakin' hilarious. XD And thanks so much for the awesome review! It's very much appreciated. Long reviews make me vewy happy. :D

**Sora KokiriLink: **You're from Chile:D I feel internationally loved. I'm glad you like my stories. Very glad. Thanks for the review! -**joins you in cheering for yaoi**-

**AbnormallyWeirdPerson: **Sorry for the long review? Oh, hehe, I totally don't mind long reviews! In fact, I feed on them. Anyway, yes, Riku does go to school, but only in the morning. Seniors... can have early-outs when they only have to go to classes in the morning or afternoon, 'cause they have enough credits that they don't need to take classes all day. I think. I don't know all the details, 'cause I'm a freshman, but I'm pretty sure that's how it works. And thanks for the review, of course!

Oh, also, if you want to listen to Alkaline Trio, I could send you some of their stuff. :D

**black-n-white-stockings: **Yes, the girl was Naminé. -**gives ch00 cookie**- Thanks for the review!

**BeuitifulDisgrace246: **8D I loved your review. It made me feel so loved. -**glomps ch00 to death**- Needless to say, THANK YOU. And yes, the girl was Naminé. -**gives ch00 cookie**-

**Hikari: **Yup, the girl was Naminé. -**gives ch00 cookie, too**- Thanks for the review!... No graphic-ness? Hmhmhm... that might come later. Sorry if ya dun like it... I'll warn people before it starts to get "graphic".

**0xoox0friendless0xoox0: **Yup, the girl was Naminé. -**gives ch00 cookie, as well**- Thanks for the review!

Okay, PLEASE READ: this chapter contains...lots'a lyrics. Lots'a song lyrics. Which means I have to put in here lots'a disclaimers.

I do not own:

**Mercy Me** by _Alkaline Trio._

**The World **by _The Starting Line._

**Cut! Print It **by _The Starting Line._

**This is the Countdown **by _Mae._

**Dethbed **by _Alkaline Trio._

All right, I think that's it. Um, so yes, I'm sorry if anyone's annoyed with all of the song lyrics... but I feel they're sorta key to the story. This was, in fact, the road-block that was keeping me from updating, deciding whether or not I should keep all the lyrics. Again, thanks, **Novelist**! Anyway, hope ya enjoy!

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**/Riku's POV/**

We sat in the music room while we waited for our turn to go on. I plucked at my bass and began playing _Dethbed_, trying to occupy my fidgeting body.

We'd been preparing _Dethbed _at every practice since I wrote it. I hadn't exactly told them _why _I wanted to play it so badly (though Tidus found out; oh, he has his ways, and he'll be holding it over my head for some time, I'm sure), even while we'd just written it and it still wasn't totally perfect. But, we were doing it anyway, along with a few of our older songs, like _Mercy Me_, _The World_, _Cut! Print It_, and _This Is The Countdown_. We'd been playing at "Battle of the Bands"—an annual fundraiser held by the high school—for nearly five years, so we were pretty renowned among the student body. We also played at talent shows, parties, anywhere where we could make ourselves known. We'd be famous some day, we were sure of it.

Mrs. Nakamura—one of the fundraiser's supervisors—came in, then, and told us that we were on next. My stomach lurched, but not from nervousness. Pft, like I was one for stage fright. No, I was excited about seeing Sora again and unveiling the song I'd written for him. Or, I suppose it hadn't really been written _for _him, more like _because _of him, but whatever.

I adjusted my strap and followed the others as we filed out of the music room, going down the hall towards the auditorium. We disappeared through the door that led to the backstage and began getting ready with our cables. The amps, drum set, and keyboard were already on the stage. The other band that was playing struck their final chords and the audience cheered before the band walked off, the singer waving an animated farewell before slipping behind the curtain.

Mrs. Nakamura stepped onto the stage, adjusting her glasses, and announced into the microphone, "And now—the band I'm sure you've all been waiting for—"

Already the crowd began to cheer.

"Kingdom Hearts!"

The cheering started to crescendo to a near-hysterical level as we stepped out and greeted the audience enthusiastically (although Leon and Sephiroth looked just as stoic as ever, but that was only to be expected—even by our fans). Tidus grabbed his microphone, Yuffie pulled hers over her keyboard, and I stepped up to mine off to the left.

"Hell_o_ everybody!" Tidus spoke into his mike. He had to almost yell to be heard over the excited screams, even with the aid of his microphone. He continued to rattle off an introduction while I scanned the crowd, looking for the familiar blue eyes and heart-shaped face. Though the lights in the auditorium were dimmed so that it was almost completely dark—save for the stage lights—I knew I'd be able to spot him.

And sure enough, I did, and my heart leapt with delight. I smiled, and I think he smiled back.

"—and for those of you who don't already know, the lyrics in almost every one of our songs are born from the poetic genius and talented bassist that is Riku Ishiguro."

I tuned back into Tidus's introduction to hear him crediting our lyrics to me, as per usual, and grinned as the audience roared.

"The actual songs are, of course, composed by the entirety of Kingdom Hearts. This year we have three new songs for everyone to enjoy—"

The roar rose a few decibels.

"—and, naturally, we'll be playing a couple of your favorites."

"Just start already!" someone from the audience shouted excitedly.

We all laughed. I think even Sephiroth and Leon managed a chuckle. Tidus just grinned, not a trace of shame on his countenance. He was infamous for his usually long introductions, and ridicule was _always _expected. "Okay, okay."

I heard the _clack, clack, clack _of Wakka's drumsticks as he counted off. "One. Two. One, two, three, four …"

We launched into _Mercy Me_, and the crowd cheered again, the renowned melody blaring through our amps and wafting over the loud enthusiasm filling the auditorium from wall to wall to ceiling to floor.

I completely lost myself in the music, as I was wont to do, experienced fingers moving across the frets and plucking at the strings. My eyes caught Sora again, shouting in the ear of the man next to him, Kairi and Selphie dancing at his other side, cheering and screaming. The identity of the man vaguely registered with me: it was Mr. Strife, if memory served me right. Although, my mind wasn't really registering much else then, because the music consumed my consciousness, the din of the audience naturally melding into the tune.

Before I knew it, we'd reached the end, and I rode down the neck of my bass with the final chords and the mindless, zealous applause and cheering from the crowd filled the suddenly music-less auditorium. I took a deep breath and flexed my fingers as Wakka counted off the next song, my hands going immediately back to my instrument as we dove into _The World_.

**/Sora's POV/**

Just as expected, they sounded amazing. I hadn't known the name of their band, though; funny I'd never thought to ask. But I liked the name. Kingdom Hearts. It reminded me of a dream I'd had once…

"They're not bad," Cloud said, bringing me out of my thoughts.

I smiled and nodded. Cloud was less tense than he had been in the car. I think upon learning that Riku wrote the lyrics for the songs, he'd gained a new sort of respect for him. I doubt he really trusted Riku yet, or even liked him, for that matter, but…Riku wasn't just some obnoxious punk in Cloud's eyes anymore. And I was happy about that.

_The World _began, a song that Riku had only mentioned before. He said he'd written it because of some assholes that had been harassing Leon, one day, about being gay or something like that. Hn, I could relate. And I was eager to hear the song. I was sure Cloud would like it, too.

The intro started with an enthusiastic, powerful tune supplied by all of the instruments. And then Tidus came in with:

"_You've gotta hold, hold open my eyelids,  
If you're gonna shake, shake, shake 'til the morning.  
I'm gonna put, put things in perspective,  
And it's gonna take, take, take my precious time.  
All we need is a reason,  
For us to dance, dance, dance 'til the break of dawn.  
All I need is a hook now,  
For us to shout, shout, shout these words out!_"_  
_

Riku stepped up to his mike and Yuffie pulled hers a little closer, one hand still on the keyboard, and prepared to sing backup.

"_'Cause we're all! All! All!  
We're ahhhh-hah-ah-all ...  
You know we're all a part of the world, of course,  
If you know it sing out,  
Yeah, sing it out!_"_  
_

The song was so…full of energy and passion, and it encouraged my already bouncing feet as my body joined in to dance in time with the beat.

"_I'm gonna snap back into formation,  
And get to work, work, work 'til the job gets done.  
Everyone's getting ready,  
'Cause they've been wait, wait, waiting for Friday night.  
All we need is a chance now,  
For, for us to get, get down in the after hours.  
All you need is a voice now,  
For us to shout, shout, shout these words out!_"

"_'Cause we're all! All! All!  
We're ahhhh-hah-ah-all ...  
You know we're all a part of the world, of course,  
If you know it sing out,  
Yeah, sing it out!_"

"_'Cause we're ahhhh-hoowah-all a pahhh-ah-ah-art!  
You know we're all a part of the world, of course.  
If you know it sing out,  
Yeah, sing it out!_"

"_Work! Work! Work!_" the singers shouted.

"_Should! Should! Should!_"

"_Good! Good! Good!_"

"_I'm gonna keep it up, keep it up!  
Gonna keep it up, keep it up!_" _  
_

"_Work, work, work if you  
Should, should, should and you're  
Good, good, good, all right now  
Keep it up, keep it up, keep it—_"_  
_

The singing began again, replacing the shouts the three had been previously spouting into their microphones.

"'_Cause we're ahhhh-hoowah-all …_

_We're pahhh-ah-ah-art …  
You know we're all a part of the world, of course.  
If you know it sing out,  
Yeah, sing it 'cause we're all! All! All!  
We're ahhhh-hah-ah-all ...   
You know we're all a part of the world, of course,  
And if you're feeling me, sing it out,  
(Yeah, sing it out!)_

_Yeah sing it, 'cause we're ahhhh-hah-ah-all,  
We're pahhh-ah-ah-art,  
You know we're all a part of the world, of course.  
If you know it sing it out,  
(Yeah, sing it out!)_

_You know we're all a part of the world, of course.  
If you know it sing it out,  
(Yeah, sing it out!)_

_You know we're all a part of the world, of course.  
If you know it sing it out,  
Yeah, sing it out!_"

The song ended abruptly, and a moment later, we burst into applause. I chanced a glance up at Cloud to see him cheering right along with everyone else. Kairi and Selphie were lost to the hysteria of the crowd.

Tidus was able to hush the audience as he stepped back up to his microphone. "And now for our newest songs. The first will be something called _Cut! Print It_."

Tidus took a deep breath and began a heartbeat before the instruments.

"_So I flew across the country just to find your broken word,  
Like the drywall in the bathroom of the hotel room she left me in alone,  
Excuse me while I let your secrets out.  
(Ahhhh-out)  
Does it comfort you to think about how wonderful this was up until now?  
(N-ahhhh-ow)  
(Nowwwwww)_"_  
_

"'_Cause this is closure once and for all,  
Oh, this has to stop right now.  
'Cause I've been running for my life,  
And you could never catch me now!_"

"_So I guess I'll just get going, I've got better topics now,  
And I'm off to find some blank pages to write all of them down,  
Because these ones have been dirtied with the mentioning of you,  
And you know I wouldn't say _'I hate you'_ if it wasn't true,  
Because you're the talk of the town,  
(N-ahhhh-ow),  
And everybody's found it out!_"_  
_

Riku and Yuffie's harmonies contrasted so perfectly against Tidus's melody, and Tidus was able to fill his voice with so much angst and flare that I was…amazed. This was the first song I'd heard by them that had such an angry and remorseful air, and it was utterly beautiful, especially with the backup singing. And the strong instrumental chords, along with Wakka's clever drumming, playing whispers off the cymbal…thingies…and the other, smaller drums…and the big one…and yeah. Give me a break. I don't know anything about drums.

_  
_"_'Cause this is closure once and for all,  
Oh, this has to stop right now.  
'Cause I've been running for my life,  
And you could never catch me now!_"

"_So I guess I'll cut my losses 'cause I lost a lot.  
I guess I'll quit complaining and I'll starting walking it off,  
Because there is no point in living in a past with that unhappiness.  
Consider it a promise we both broke,  
Consider it mistakes on both our parts!_"

"_'Cause this is closure once and for all,  
Oh, this has to stop right now.  
'Cause I've been running for my life,  
And you could never catch me now!  
Yeah, this closure once and for all,  
(Yeah, this is closure once and for all),  
Yeah, this closure once and for all,  
(Yeah, this is closure once and for all),  
And you could never catch me now …_"

Wakka continued to drum for another few seconds before silence fell completely over the auditorium, the crowd taking a moment to soak in the aftereffects of the new song. And then the room erupted in cheers, applause, whoops and shouts and screams.

Riku's eyes met mine again, and I was sure his already-wide grin widened more, even if just a little. His face was flushed and glistening under the stage lights, hair sticking to his forehead and neck. His eyes were brighter than I'd ever seen them, shining with the sheer delight of playing music.

I waved, bouncing on the balls of my feet. Tidus introduced the next song as "_This Is The Countdown_".

Seph and Leon started out with a soft guitar melody, backed up by the keyboard, soon joined by the drums, and then Riku entered with a strong bass part that preceded the singing.

"_Are you getting tired?  
I think we've gone and lost the fire.  
But I don't wanna fight anymore,  
I've had enough,  
Of this town._"_  
_

"_I can see the signs,  
And I can read between the lines.  
But I don't know what we were fighting for,  
I'm just trying,  
To break out._"_  
_

"_I've been waiting for something,  
I've been sitting for too long.  
I've been waiting but oh, tonight,  
This one last try, goes on and on and on…_"_  
_

Again with the tortured voice, the haunting melody. It was such a beautiful song. It almost surprised me that the audience didn't stop their cheering to just…listen. Had I not been caught up in it all, I know I would've. It was so sad and so angsty and so _gorgeous_.

"_I've been waiting for something,  
I've been sitting for too long.  
I've been waiting but oh, tonight,  
This one last try, goes on and on and on…_"_  
_

"_You put your nets out,  
But still you chose to do without.  
The only way to catch the butterfly,  
Is never waiting for the wings, and…_"_  
_

"_As seasons bring change,  
And as the seconds fade away.  
I still don't know why we were holding on,  
But I'm still trying,  
To breakout._"

And did I mention that the lyrics were amazing? Even above the din of the crowd, I could clearly decipher Tidus's words, and immediately my chest swelled with pride. I was proud, proud of Riku, and proud that he was my boyfriend. _He _was _my _boyfriend, and I was his.

"_I've been waiting for something,  
I've been sitting for too long.  
I've been waiting but oh, tonight,  
This one last try, goes on and on and on…_"_  
_

"_I've been waiting for something,  
I've been sitting for too long.  
I've been waiting but oh, tonight,  
This one last try, goes on and on and on…_"

"_Should've known better than to listen,  
When the dreams and the words started falling apart._"_  
_

"_Should've known I would've hit the ground running._"_  
_

"_Did you think that the night would posses us?  
Take us over like the rain that's falling down?_"_  
_

"_Did you notice when the clock stopped running?_"_  
_

"_Running._"

"_Running._"

"_Running…_"

"_This is the countdown; you see our time is running out.  
I tread to stay above the waterline,  
But never taking off the weights that…_"

"_Keep us stuck here.  
In the comfort and the fear.  
I'll never know what we were fighting for,  
But I'm still looking,  
To break out._"_  
_

"_I've been waiting for something,  
I've been sitting for too long.  
I've been waiting but oh, tonight,  
This one last try, goes on and on and on…_"

"_I've been waiting for something,  
I've been sitting for too long.  
I've been waiting but oh, tonight,  
This one last try, goes on and on and on…_"

As the tune faded away, I clapped ardently, cheering and calling and just _smiling_. My jaw was beginning to hurt. But I wouldn't stop. I don't know what happened to Kairi and Selphie. But whatever. They'd turn up eventually.

As Tidus pulled the mike to his lips to announce the next and final song, he passed Riku a devious grin. The healthy flush in Riku's cheeks seemed to drain, and I couldn't help but laugh.

"This next song," Tidus said, a hush falling over the crowd as he spoke, "Riku wrote specially about his—"

"O_KAY_!" Riku intervened, shouting into his own microphone to cover Tidus's amplified voice. "It's called _Dethbed_—"

"And he wrote it about his newest boyfriend!" Tidus interrupted quickly.

There was a collective sigh from the audience, some whoops, and definitely some disappointed whines from the girls. I could feel my cheeks burn, although the smile was still glued to my lips. Riku sought out my gaze and held it, with an almost apologetic smile of his own. I just laughed. I looked up at Cloud. His eyes were narrowed, and he looked down at me, murmuring, "'Newest'?"

I shrugged, not really understanding the point that Cloud was trying to make, and turned back to the stage as the band began the song.

The keyboard faded in with a haunting sort of sound, followed quickly by the intro with the guitars and drums. And then Tidus started singing.

"_Calling all cars, all coroners, we've got a dead one here,  
And anybody else receiving this, the west coast is far from clear,  
Like a time bomb, or sudden death, it's going to find you,  
When you least expect, it's going to leave you,  
With the emptiest feeling inside._"

"_(Over-analyzed)_"

The tune was…oh, I don't know, there was no actual way to describe it. Full of a soft sort of sadness? Longing? Remorse? All of the above. And despite the angst-ridden air, it made me smile.

"_They found me face-down in the street,  
On the night you left to find another place to sleep,  
In rain and regret,  
They said they tried everything but it was no use,  
Yeah they tried everything and everyone but you._"

"_Falling like stars into the ocean black we're going to disappear,  
And anything left recognizable is rubbed away with fear,  
We've got our hearts dipped in time release,  
We've got the know-how and the elbow grease,  
We've got our victim all cut up down here on the floor._"

"_(Over and out the door)_"

"_They found me face-down in the street,  
On the night you left to find another place to sleep,  
In rain and regret,  
They said they tried everything but it was no use,  
Yeah they tried everything and everyone but you._"

The song was drawing to a close. The instruments suddenly changed their melody, and launched into a sort of solo, I guess. If it wasn't obvious already, music wasn't my forte.

"… _one but you._

… _one but you._"

As Tidus stepped away from the mike and bobbed his head slightly to the music, Riku's bass line was suddenly made more pronounced, and I watched in awe as his fingers danced dexterously down the neck of his guitar, bringing the song to its climax. The guitars supported him with a muddled sort of harmony, while the drums and keyboard kept up their part.

And suddenly, they stopped, save for Leon, who rode up the neck of his guitar with (what I assumed to be) his pick, creating this sort of ascending, grating sound. Then the others joined in with a renewed flare.

"_They found me face-down in the street,  
On the night you left to find another place to sleep,  
In rain and regret,  
They said they tried everything but it was no use,  
Yeah they tried everything and everyone but you._"

The song came to an abrupt stop, and I could just feel my stomach flip-flopping uncontrollably. Just as beautiful as the others, the song had just been…perfect. Totally and completely. And to think, it had been written about _me_. I just felt…appreciated. Special. As if I weren't a worthless nobody, however fleeting the sensation was. I saw Riku again and he pointed off stage, mouthing "Meet me" against his microphone as Tidus said the farewells. I nodded and slipped away after telling Cloud.

Stepping out of the dimmed auditorium into the bright hallway, I squinted. Suddenly, a silver head appeared from around a corner down the corridor. Immediately I found the familiar aqua orbs trained on my own and blushed happily. Riku handed his bass to Wakka, who took it and continued on with the rest of the band with a suggestive wink at his platinum-haired friend. Riku chuckled and rolled his eyes.

The next thing I knew, I was being plowed into the wall by my boyfriend.

"SORA!" he shouted happily.

"R-Riku!" I gasped. "Hi."

Then he stood back, holding me at arm's length and scanning his eyes up and down my body, a hungry glint lighting his aqua irises. I blushed fiercely. "Well," he purred, "don't you look hot."

And with that, he pressed me to the wall and captured my lips in a searing kiss.

---

* * *

---

**A/N: **Hopefully no one hates me for all of those lyrics. -.-;; Hm, on a random note, this part:

_The song was drawing to a close. The instruments suddenly changed their melody, and launched into a sort of solo, I guess. If it wasn't obvious already, music wasn't my forte. _

Hehe, that would be the "bridge", Sora. The bridge comes before the solo, which in that case was Riku's bass solo.

Sora: ...Shadup. -.-;;

Magick: XD -**gives Sora cookie**-

Revieweth, pleaseth!


	8. Confrontations

**Chances in Life**

_XO'MagickMoon'OX_

**.Chapter VIII.** Confrontations

**AbnormallyWeirdPerson: **Ahh, thank you SO much for your review. Yes, the long review was VERY nice. :D It made me happy. Hopefully all of your questions will be answered in this chapter! ...I think I answered them all. -**checks**- Yup, pretteh sure. :) You're a freshman, too? Freshman power! -**pumps fist**- (Or, well, seeing that school's out, that'd make us sophomores now, right?) Hehe, well, anyway, enjoy the chapter!

**Rampaging Sorrow: **Glad you like Mae! They are an awesome band, ne:)

**BeuitifulDisgrace246: **Of course, thank you SO much for your review! I think I told you that, but I wanted to tell you again. :) Hopefully you enjoy this chappie, too!

**Tsuki Fox: **Good luck learning guitar! My bro plays guitar, and I play bass, hence, Riku plays bass. :D I think I said that in one of my A/N's. Oh well.

**RainbowSerenity: **Haha, I can relate to Sora, too, his whole (as you put it) "oh, I'm plain lil' ol' me, no one will ever love me" thing he's got going on. I think that's why I find it easy to write. And yes, Riku is very stubborn, and don't we all love him for it? XD Thanks for the review!

Anyway, on with the show! -**raises curtain**-

* * *

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**/Riku's POV/**

Well, fuck if I had _ever _seen anyone who looked as good as Sora did tonight! This was a side of him I had never had the pleasure of seeing, nor known existed. His delicious outfit left little to the imagination. Those pants—which looked suspiciously like girls' pants—fit every curve perfectly, and I found myself pondering all of the possible ways I could help him get out of them. And just for a challenge, I'd make sure not to tear them. Yes, that would be a challenge, indeed. And the collar around his neck was just issuing all sorts of "S & M" ideas. It was all I could do to not mercilessly kiss him until he was unconscious, and I wondered if he was as hot as I was right then.

From the sounds he was making as I nipped at his lips, every now and then drawing his tongue into my mouth and sucking on it, I would think so.

My hands found their way under his button-front shirt (how was it possible for anyone to have skin so soft?), and I resisted the urge to undo each and every one. I knew that if that happened, they'd need a SWAT team to hold me back from ravishing Sora senseless. And the fact that there was no SWAT team present made the idea so much more appealing. But the fact that we were tucked away into a corner at the end of the hallway outside my school cafeteria doused any desire I had to do anything more than making-out. Well, here, at least.

He gasped as my fingers brushed his sensitive nipples, his hands tightening around the hair of mine that he was fisting. I smirked into the kiss, a second later breaking it so as to gain access to a suitable amount of air. But that didn't stop me from leaning into him and kissing his jaw, slowly traveling further south. My hands gallivanted down from his chest to his belt, and I immediately recognized it by touch as one of the ones that Hot Topic held in stock. I chuckled lightly before forgoing the belt and pressing one hand on his thigh just to the right of his groin. "_Riku_," he gasped.

I smirked against his neck, whispering, "No one's ever touched you like this before, have they?"

He shook his head.

"Have _you_ even touched yourself like this before?" I asked, moving my hand suggestively to the left.

Again, he shook his head, and I knew that he was blushing, this time not just flushing from the lack of air. He was so cute. And so _chaste_, goddammit. I couldn't believe not even _he'd _ever touched himself. How did he survive? Then again, not everyone had as overactive a libido as me, I reasoned. But still, the thought that I was the first to ever get to do anything even remotely close to _touching him_ touching him sent excited sparks through my system and made my stomach turn happily.

I grudgingly returned my hands to his shoulders and pulled away from his neck, pressing my forehead against his. Soon, we were kissing again. And I swear, I'd died and gone to Heaven. Again. I think that every time I was with him, I died, finding that place of euphoria that can only be reached through the passage of the nonliving, just to be pulled down from the clouds by his beautiful voice time and time again.

"Sora!"

My breath hitched as we hastily broke apart. We turned to see Mr. Strife sort of glaring at us, except with something much more deadly than anger in his eyes. My band-mates were behind him, as well as a giggling Kairi and an equally as giddy Selphie. Damn, how long had they been standing there? Not long, I hoped. I generally wasn't one for exhibitionism, believe it or not.

"Now, now Cloud, let them have their fun."

Whoa, was that _my _brother speaking? I blinked, and sure enough, it _was _my brother, standing there, smirking at Mr. Strife…erm, Cloud. Where was his stoic seriousness? His refined sagacity? …Wait, how did Sephiroth know Sora's teacher?

Cloud stalked over to us and grabbed Sora's hand, pulling him from between me and the wall.

"Hey!" I snapped, quickly following them. "What the hell is your problem?"

Cloud whirled on me, that same lethal glint in his eyes. "You're Sephiroth's brother?"

"Um…yes?"

"Oh no. No, no, no, no, no! Sora," he turned to my boyfriend, "you are not to have anything more to do with the Ishiguro brothers."

"What!" Sora squeaked.

"Yeah, what!" Kairi chimed in. "What's wrong, Cloud?"

Cloud ignored her, pointing at Sephiroth. "I thought I recognized you, up there on stage."

Seph just smirked, rather evilly, one would note.

"What the hell is going on!" I approached my brother. "Seph?"

Sephiroth just shook his head. "It doesn't concern you, Riku." He never once took his eyes off of Cloud.

"The hell it doesn't!" I gestured to Sora. "What about Sora? Why isn't he allowed to see me? It has something to do with you and Blondie,—"

"Blondie?"

"—and it therefore concerns _me!_"

Much to my agitation, Seph seemed to ignore me. He glanced around the hallway, then back at Cloud. "Doesn't it bring back memories, Cloud?"

I saw Sora wince as Cloud's grip tightened around his arm. "Shut up," Cloud hissed.

What memories? What the hell was going on!

"Sephiroth, don't start."

We all glanced in surprise at the brunet standing beside Sephiroth. There seemed to be a flicker of anger beneath Leon's stony countenance.

Cloud shook his head. "Sora, Kairi, Selphie, let's go." He began to try to tug Sora away.

"Wait!" I called at the same time that Sora cried, "No!"

He wrenched his arm away from Cloud's suddenly lax hold and ran to me, almost knocking me over as he buried his face in my chest. I recovered quickly, though, as I wrapped my arms around his back and glared at the others, as if daring them to try and take him away again.

"So_ra_." Cloud stressed the syllables of Sora's name in warning as he spoke. "Let's. Go."

Sora turned in my arms and faced Blondie, looking defiant. "No. I've waited all day to see Riku and I'm not ready to leave yet!"

"Then you can get a ride home with him, because _I'm _leaving."

Shocked silence followed this as Cloud turned and departed down the hallway, his gait seeming to spark flames in its wake with the anger rolling off of him.

Leon sighed and, much to our added surprise, went after him.

Sora turned to me then, and said, "Wait here." Then he followed Leon.

Tidus, Wakka, Yuffie, Kairi, and Selphie were all standing mutely around us. I faced Sephiroth and demanded, "What the _hell _was that all about?"

**/Sora's POV/**

"Cloud, wait!"

I followed Leon's voice as he called after Cloud. I stopped when I heard their footsteps cease. Peering around the doorway, I saw them standing on the patio, the blunted darkness surrounding them seeming to blend with the somber auras rippling off of both Cloud and Leon.

"What do you want, Leonhart?" Cloud demanded.

Wait, did Cloud _know _Leon? I think Cloud mentioned one time that he had gone to the public high school during his student career. So maybe Leon and Cloud had gone to school together, with Sephiroth! Oh, the pieces were finally coming together.

I remained hidden behind one of the closed wooden doors, their voices floating to me through the contiguous open doorway.

"Don't let Sephiroth get to you like that," Leon said.

"Easy for you to say," Cloud spat.

There was a sigh, whether from Leon or Cloud I couldn't tell. Then, Leon spoke, "I know. I'm sorry. You have every right to be angry with Sephiroth—"

"'Angry' doesn't even _begin _to cover it!" Cloud snapped. "I _hate _him!"

I had never before heard Cloud so incensed. He was usually calm and didn't express his emotions this liberally. Who was Sephiroth in accordance to Cloud that he could get such a rise out of him?

"But, don't take it out on Riku."

Silence followed.

Leon continued, "He's really a good kid."

"Oh yeah, I'm sure," Cloud scoffed. "Just like his brother, right?"

"Hey," Leon growled in warning. "Didn't you hear what I just said? Don't take your hate of Sephiroth out on Riku."

There was a sigh, one that I was sure was from Cloud. "I know. I… I'm sorry." He seemed to have calmed down some. "It's just… Sora's like a little brother to me. I don't want him getting hurt."

"Riku won't hurt him."

Silence again followed Leon's words, a silence that just seemed to ring of incredulity. But I felt wholeheartedly that Leon was right. Riku wouldn't hurt me! He would never hurt me.

I caught my bottom lip between my teeth as I thought through my claims again.

Why would Riku hurt me? He wouldn't, would he? He seemed to care about me, just as much as I cared about him. My mind sort of reeling, I turned away and took off with a bit of a brisk gait that I tried to tell myself wasn't anxious in the least.

As I returned to the hallway where everyone was waiting and Riku wrapped me in his arms, I was sure.

He _did _care about me. Cloud was worrying for nothing.

"Ready to go?" Riku whispered into the top of my head.

I smiled a nodded, suddenly feeling exhausted. "Yeah."

He took my hand and began to lead me away, his bass packed and slung over his shoulder. We passed Leon and Cloud out on the patio and continued down the cement stairs to the sidewalk, crossing the street and finally reaching Riku's car. As he stowed his guitar away in the trunk, I looked up at the inky black sky, offset by the light from the moon and punctuated by the stars and yellow streetlamps. Then, I heard a car door click and saw Riku holding the passenger side open for me.

"Your chariot awaits," he said with a grin.

I laughed and bowed dramatically with one arm tucked behind my back and the other across my stomach. "Why thank you, kind sir." He laughed in return. I loved the sound of his laugh.

I slid into the seat and listened to the click of the door as it closed. A moment later, Riku was beside me, and then he was practically on top of me, one hand gripping the back of my headrest for balance and the other holding the side of my face while he kissed me. And I just smiled through it all.

Sitting back, he started the car up and pulled out of his parking spot, and soon we were leaving the school vicinity.

"So, where are we going?" I asked. The air around us was so much less suffocating than the first time I rode in his car, and it made my heart beat happily.

"Well, I was thinking we'd just go back to my house. We could make some popcorn and watch a movie, or something."

I bit my lip to keep from saying something stupid, something that mirrored my thoughts of what we would probably _really _end up doing at Riku's house. Instead, I said softly, "I'd like that."

"Good." There was a momentary spell of silence, nothing but the quiet purr of the engine filling the void, until Riku said, "So, what did you think of the show?"

A wide grin split my face as I turned in my seat to face my boyfriend, gesticulating animatedly as I replied, "It was awesome! You guys sounded amazing, as usual. And your lyrics were just…"

Oh, was Riku blushing? I bit back a chuckle as I saw, in the flashing lights of the passing streetlamps and shops, that he _was _blushing. If he hadn't been driving, I would've pounced on him right then and there for being so irresistibly adorable. Now, tell me again, _how _did I wind up with someone as perfect as him?

"They were just…?" he prompted.

"They were beautiful. All of them." I smiled fondly. "And the song that you wrote…on account of me…was…" I couldn't think of a word. It was just… "Perfect." Oh, look, I thought of one. Go me! "And that actually doesn't even begin to cover it. It was more than perfect; it was…indescribable." I laughed a little nervously. I knew that if he didn't say something, I was going to start rambling.

"Thanks," he murmured. He sounded embarrassed. And it made me giggle to notice that he was still blushing. "What?" he asked curiously.

"Hm?"

"What's so funny?"

"Oh," giggle, "nothing."

He made a face. "Fine, don't tell me."

I just leaned over and pecked him on the cheek. "Okay, I won't."

And together we laughed, and all too soon, it seemed, we were pulling into his driveway. Or maybe it wasn't all too soon, because not even a second after the engine had been put to rest was Riku leaning over again and engaging us in a heated kiss.

I loved his kisses. I think I could get drunk off of his kisses. His lips were so soft and warm, and just the near-suffocating propinquity of him was intoxicating, and when he started using his tongue, my mind knew that it had no chance of functioning properly from that point on. Like now.

I idly noted that he smelled like cologne and sweat and then something softer, something that had to have been his natural scent. It was like…the ocean. He smelled like the ocean. And not the nauseating salinity of the ocean, but the gentle breezes carried over the water, the smell of sunset over the sea, the smell of the moon reflecting off of the rolling waves, the smell of laughter and exuberance, the smell of the warm sand beneath your feet. I didn't know exactly how things like that could have a _smell_, but when with Riku, anything ranging from the unlikely to the impossible was wont to happen. And now my senses were all crisscrossed, case in point.

And his hair was so soft. I was ever marveled by his hair, the color, the texture, _everything_, the way it slipped through my fingertips like something ephemeral, like moonlight, like water. I loved it.

Breathing heavily, he pulled away, almost grudgingly. And then was my chance to note on his eyes. Even in the darkness of the car, they seemed to sparkle. His eyes… Again, I was drowning in their depth, their beauty, and at the same time, I was being scorched by their intensity. The way he was staring at me made me blush. I smiled sheepishly and tried to hide my face behind my hands. Quickly, he caught my wrists before I'd even made contact with my burning cheeks and said, "What are you doing?" Amusement danced in his breathless voice.

"Y-You're embarrassing me…" I murmured in equally breathless reply, and my answer itself only served to embarrass me more.

"By looking at you?"

I giggled nervously and nodded.

"Well, get used to it." He looked as if he wanted to kiss me again (and I surely wouldn't have argued) but instead he sat back in his seat and pulled out his keys, smiling softly. "Come on," he said, "let's go inside."

I nodded again and pushed open my door. Stepping onto the driveway, I looked up and noticed something that I'd been too previously preoccupied to notice. "Hey, Riku? Whose car is that?" I pointed to the black Honda CRV that was parked in front of one of the closed garage doors.

Riku swung his legs out of the driver's side and glanced up. And I swear, I'd never seen him look more angry and frightened than he did then. Even from only the view of his profile that I had, the fire and ice that collided cataclysmically in the one eye I could see was scary. "Shit," he swore under his breath. "What the hell is _she _doing home?"

**/Riku's POV/**

No. No, no, no, no, no, no! This was bad.

"Sora, get back in the car," I said as lightly as I could.

"What? Why, Riku? What's wro—"

"Just get back in the damn car." I instantly regretted my tone of voice as I saw Sora wince out of the corner of my eye and hurriedly comply. But I didn't apologize; I could do that later, when we were _far _away from here.

I slid back into the driver's seat and started the car up again. Sora pulled his door closed and buckled back in as I pulled out of the driveway, a little faster than I'd intended, and cruised down the street.

Everything was tensely silent for a while. Sora was looking out his window, and I could feel the hurt rolling off of him in waves. It sent a pang through my chest to know that I was the cause of that hurt. "Sora," I said softly, "I'm sorry I snapped at you."

He didn't reply right away, but when he did reply, he said, "It's okay." He sounded so timid, and I knew that it wasn't okay.

I sighed heavily. "I'm gonna get us ice cream," I explained.

Again Sora was loath to answer, or maybe he was just picking his words carefully for fear of me snapping again, but finally he said, "Will you tell me what was wrong?"

"When we get to the parlor, yes."

He nodded mutely, seemingly satisfied with that. And I still felt horrible.

The rest of the ride would have been spent in silence if I hadn't turned on the radio, flipping to one of my favorite stations that was devoid of anything that fell under the Rap, Hip-Hop, and/or R&B genre. Finally, after what seemed like an excruciatingly long car ride, we reached the ice cream parlor. I glanced up at the welcoming pink building that was strung with festive lights and other winter decorations in preparation for the upcoming holidays and let slip a small smile. I'd always loved the place.

I killed the engine and got out, waiting as Sora did the same. I took his hand and squeezed it, causing him to look up at me. Getting his attention, I said, "I'm really sorry, Sora." Why was I going to such lengths to apologize to him? I don't ever remember harboring this abhorrence of my boy/girlfriend being mad at me before; I'd never really cared about whether or not I'd hurt them, since I knew I'd probably wind up hurting them again in the end, anyway. And even in the end, after I'd broken their heart, I'd still never cared. But now…

"It's okay," he said again, and this time it felt sincere. He smiled at me, and something warm and fuzzy started skipping around in my stomach, throwing flower petals all over the place and singing happily. I smiled back at him.

Together, we walked up the wooden ramp that led to the front entrance and stepped inside, greeted by the oxymoron-like warm chill that usually filled an ice cream parlor. I saw Sora shiver involuntarily and moved to wrap him in my arms from behind, nuzzling the back of his head. I heard him laugh.

With me still holding him like that, we clumsily made our way to the counter, greeted with a dreamy smile and pleasant "Welcome!" from the woman behind the cash register.

Settling my chin on the top of Sora's head and glancing up at the choices posted in multicolored marker on a whiteboard, I said, "I would like…soft chocolate in a sugar cone, please." I flashed the woman a charming smile as she nodded.

"And…um…" Sora read over the flavors and combinations again, saying, "Can I have…mint chocolate chip…in a sugar cone…" he paused, before adding, "with rainbow sprinkles!"

"Coming right up." The woman, whose nametag read _Emily_, went to work preparing our orders.

Sora turned in my arms and leaned up to place a chaste kiss on my lips. I smile lazily at the warmth that permeated my body and glanced around the relatively empty parlor, locating a table in the front by a window. I pulled Sora over to it. When he tried to detach himself from my embrace to sit on one of the chairs, I smirked and pulled him onto my lap as I sank down into the other chair. He blushed a pink that would rival the outer walls of the parlor, causing my smirk to simply widen. And so he sat there, blushing and trying to hide it, and, of course, failing miserably.

Then, Emily came over and handed us our orders, grinning broadly. "No charge," she said hurriedly before rushing back to the counter and pulling out some book, pretending to busy herself with reading it while not so surreptitiously sneaking glances at us.

I shrugged and took a lick of my ice cream, savoring the sweet taste. Not that many people knew it, but I had a big sweet tooth. I could be bribed into almost anything with sugar alone.

Sora managed to wiggle off of my lap and take the seat across from me, running his tongue around the perimeter of the ball of mint chocolate chip ice cream on top of his cone. Thankfully, before my thoughts decided to take a rather perverted turn, Sora spoke. "So, are you going to tell me now?"

I felt my heart sink, being pulled down from my fluffy little piece of Cloud Nine by the cold hands of reality. "Oh, right." I licked my ice cream again before beginning.

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And, cut! -**lowers curtain**-

So, thoughts? The next chapter is where you all learn the reasons behind Riku's twisted philosophies on love and lust. The more you review, the faster I update:D


	9. The Origins

**Chances in Life**

_XO'MagickMoon'OX_

**.Chapter IX.** The Origins

**A/N: ** Thank you, as usua, to everyone who's reviewed! Much love to you all!

**AbnormallyWeirdPerson: **Thanks, as usual, for your long and very _very _awesome review! As for your question about Seph, Cloud, and Leon...well, there was some sort of relationship issue, but think back to when Kairi said the Aerith was Cloud's high school sweetheart. That might give you some sort of a clue. And PDA in the ice cream parlor. Gotta love it, ne? Mint chocolate chip ice cream with rainbow sprinkles is one of my personal favorites, and it did sound like something that Sora would get. Chocolate is my other favorite, hence Riku's preference in ice cream. Black raspberry is also good... oh, that's going off topic. :D Anyway, thanks again!

**RMSTitanic89: **O.O;; Your review was VERY long, and very conversational, and therefore, I loved it. :D Thank you! It was great to hear your opinion on Sora and Riku's relationship, etc. It's true that they should have equality. They usually do in my stories. BUT, in this particular story, Sora is supposed to be the _very _pure, virgin Catholic boy, who has never been in a relationship due to his being gay and his homophobic surroundings. On the other hand, Riku is as far from pure as Satan himself, definitely _not _a virgin (quite the opposite), and doesn't believe in love...only lust. Therefore, Sora sorta unintentionally took the "female role" because of his inexperience. But thank you for pointing out that they _should _be equal, because I'll be able to keep that in mind while developing their characters. I was planning on making Sora gain some sort of boldness after a while, but if you hadn't mentioned it, I probably would've forgotten to develop his character as such. As for Seph and Cloud, they themselves weren't in a relationship, but they did have some sort of relationship fued. Like I told AbnormallyWeirdPerson above, think back to when Kairi said the Aerith was Cloud's high school sweetheart. That might give you some sort of a clue. ;) There will be mentionings of hetero couples, but no focus on them. Like I said, there's mentioning of CloudxAerith, as well as Riku and various other girls, seeing that he really "gets around" with pretty much _ev-er-y-one_. I agree with the not having every couple in the story yaoi-based. It doesn't make it very realistic. And, finally, I am going to try to include AxelxRoxas. I never plan on including them, but somehow they always find a way into my writing, 'cause really, they are just too adorably together, ne? XD Anyway, thanks again so much for your review! I hope you continue to share your thoughts, and keep a tab on how well I'm doing with all of the things you mentioned.

**RainbowSerenity: **Thank you so much for your review, too! Ahem as for the SephyxCloud turn, I don't think there's going to be any SephxCloud... did not intend it (though I love them together as much as any fangirl). :D But there is going to be some sort of issue between. As I mentioned above, think back to when Kairi said the Aerith was Cloud's high school sweetheart. That might give you some sort of a clue. Hehe, mint chocholate chip with rainbow sprinkles is a personal favorite of mine, too! So is chocolate. Anyway, thanks again so much! I loved your review!

**Blackened-wings: **Thanks, too, for your review! So glad you like my story. :D If you want to hear any of the music on "Crimson", I could always e-mail the mp3's to you. ;) Any music, for that matter. Yay for wind instruments! I play violin, myself, as well as bass guitar (I can't count how many times I've mentioned that throughout my A/N's; I should really stop mentioning it XD), and my friend is also teaching me flute. w00t! Hehe, well, anyway, thanks again!

And now, on with the show! -**raises curtain**-

...-**drops it again by accident**-...

Audience: hissBOOhiss

Magick: Ehehehe... -**raises curtain again**- Sorry 'bout that!

-**curtain falls again**-

Axel: Aw, the hell with it! -**torches the curtain**- Mwahaahah!

Magick:... -**backs away slowly**- Aaaanyway, NOW on with the show!

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**/Sora's POV/**

As much as I hated to dispel the gaiety that had overcome us, I wanted more than anything to know what had made Riku so upset. I don't think I'd be able to stand him keeping things from me.

"That car," he said, "was my mom's car."

Okay, so I didn't see anything wrong there.

"I wasn't expecting my parents home for another week, so I thought it'd be okay to go to my house." He took another lick of his ice cream while I ate mine in silence, waiting for him to continue. "My parents… well, let's just say that they aren't on the best of terms with each other anymore. Consequently, they aren't on the best of terms with me or Seph, either." He laughed, and it sounded so hollow. "You'd almost think they'd have forgotten they even had children if they didn't send money for the bills each month.

"My dad's an archaeologist, and my mom is a doctor. Instead of starting up a practice here, she spends a lot of time in other countries that don't have good medical care, or some shit like that."

"That sounds nice," I said slowly, ignoring the feeling of treading on thin ice.

"Yeah, it would." Riku scowled at his ice cream. "My parents spend a lot of time away from home, and a lot of time away from each other, and not just because of their jobs. They can't stand each other, and they'd get a divorce if they cared to go through all of the trouble that it entails. So instead of getting a divorce, they just act like they're divorced. And ever since Seph and I became old enough to take care of ourselves, they basically just walked right out of our lives. They come back for the holidays, probably to ease their nearly nonexistent consciences, and sometimes they don't even come back then. It would probably be better if they really did just _stop coming back_. Things are always a mess at home when they're there."

He looked up at me and smiled almost sadly. "That's why I couldn't bring you inside; I didn't want you to have to see it."

I fixed my gaze the plastic tabletop, studying a small stain of sticky strawberry ice cream. "Oh, I understand," I said softly. "Thanks, Riku," I added, feeling appreciation for him bloom anew in my chest. I turned my eyes back to meet his, smiling sincerely.

He let out a breath of relief, saying, "You know, you're the first person I've ever told that to."

"Huh? Really?"

"Yeah." That said, he continued eating his ice cream, licking the rivulets of chocolate that had run down the sides during our conversation.

We let the topic of his parents drop, and started talking about this and that and more of this. It was a lot of fun, just talking to him. We talked about food, movies, music (Riku _loved _to talk about music), annoying teachers and favorite classes. We talked about friends and about our plans for winter vacation. He said he didn't have much planned, and I told him that I was going to visit my grandparents. He looked a little disappointed, but I assured him that I'd be back before the end of the break. And he smiled.

I loved his smiles.

**/Riku's POV/**

When I dropped Sora off at his house, he leaned over and gave me a kiss before saying, "I had a lot of fun."

"Good." I grinned and pulled him back for another kiss, but he made it quick and broke away.

"G'night, Riku."

"'Night," I murmured. And with that, he left, and I watched him head up his driveway and disappear into his house. Suddenly, I felt very lonely. Brushing the biting sensation aside, I took off down the road and headed for home.

When I got there, I saw Seph sitting on the porch steps, looking contemplative and brooding. Or, at least, more so than usual. This was not a good sign. Nor was the silver Camry parked beside my mom's CRV. Dad was home.

With my bass slung over my shoulder, I approached my brother warily. "What's happening?" I asked, and there was nothing casual about my tone.

Seph closed his eyes and shook his head. "I don't know if you want to go in there."

I sighed. This was just ridiculous. It was our own home, dammit! It wasn't my parents' home; it may have been their house, but not their home. And I'd be damned if they'd alienate us from our own fucking home. Again. Defiantly, I marched up the stairs past Sephiroth and opened the unlocked door, stepping inside. Without a word, I ascended the stairwell and made it to my room without having any sort of confrontation with my parents.

And I knew why.

I closed my door and hastily, almost desperately, turned on my stereo, trying to drown out the sounds coming from my parents' room. They were sounds that most kids _never _wanted to hear their parents making. I remember a few years ago, I'd been revolted at the very thought of what my parents were doing when I would hear those same sounds every night, and I would become _very _attached to my headphones during those times. But now, it barely fazed me. Just barely.

As the music blanketed all other unwanted noise, I set my bass down and collapsed on my bed. What I had told Sora about my parents was really only half the story.

My parents had never been in love, as far as I knew. They didn't love each other now, so surely they had never loved each other in the first place. How was it possible to love someone enough to marry them, to have children with them, and then to just fall _out _of love with them like that? It wasn't possible. Which meant that they had never been in love to begin with.

It was true that their jobs required them to spend a lot of time away from home, away from each other, but not as much time as they spent. The reason they spent so much time away from each other was because they were spending it with other people. And not in the business sense, but in the adulterous sense. Sometimes, Dad would come home with another woman when Mom wasn't here and make it clear that their relationship was more than friendly. Mom would do the same thing with other men. What was worse was that sometimes they both came home with someone else at the same time. The fact that they were disloyal to each other didn't even bother them.

But what was the worst by far was when they'd come home for the holidays and spend every night fucking _each other_, only to carry on throughout the day as if nothing had happened. If there were tender smiles the morning after, some sort of affection or fondness between them, then perhaps I wouldn't mind it all as much. But there never were.

That, my friends, is what attraction is all about. There is no love, only lust. People pretend that there's love to make life more bearable. They _want_ to feel attached to someone else, and so they do. They want to believe that there's something magical in the way someone else makes them feel, something chaste, something clean and simple and _oh so _beautiful. But it's _never _anything more than make-believe. Love is about as real as the stories my mom would read to me before bed when I was young. It's about as real as the way she used to look at me when reading those stories, like she cared about me. Like I was born from the love shared between her and her husband, and not the product of some careless accident. But, whenever I would receive those looks and smile back at her, I was only deluding myself, setting myself up for the crash and burn that I experienced when I realized that there was no love. Only lust.

Because, the week after I turned fifteen, when Sephiroth was eighteen, my mom walked out the door and didn't come back until Christmas. Dad did the same thing. And then there were no more bedtime stories, or feelings of motherly care, of fatherly affection. And when they finally did come back, that was the first time I heard The Sounds that I had never thought I would, nor wanted to, hear coming from my parents' bedroom. And when the morning came, and Mom and Dad were as cold to each other as they'd ever been, I knew that it was all make-believe. Love was make-believe.

I felt tired. More like drained. I sighed and got up to turn my lights off, keeping my stereo just short of blaring, and stripped down to my boxers before crawling back into bed.

As I drifted in and out of consciousness, the music playing in the background of my thoughts, I really wished Sora was there with me.

"…_Just don't let me lie here by myself.  
Let's go, I know I'm faded…_

_Outta sight, tonight, just stay with me, I don't wanna go home.  
Outta sight, tonight, just rescue me, I don't wanna go…_"

**/Sora's POV/**

"Sora, is that you?"

I walked into the kitchen, seeing my mom and dad sitting there. Dad was looking up from the book he'd been reading and Mom was stirring a cup of hot chocolate. They smiled at me, and I felt almost guilty smiling back, thinking of Riku. I really hoped he was okay…

"How was the concert?" my mom asked.

"It was great!" I said, taking the seat next to my dad. I added offhandedly, "Me and Riku went out for ice cream after."

"You did?" my dad quirked an eyebrow. I felt my cheeks heat, and vehemently tried to will the blush away.

"Uh… yeah."

"What about Kairi and Selphie? Weren't they with you?"

"Um, they were, but…" Stupid, stupid, stupid! What had I gotten myself into? My parents didn't know I had a boyfriend. Hell, they didn't even know I was gay! Gah, this was bad. I really didn't want to deal with a whole "coming out" scene right now.

Thankfully, the phone rang.

I jumped to my feet. "I'll get it!" And so I did, answering the phone and feeling relief flood me to hear Kairi's voice on the other end. I turned to my parents and said, "It's Kairi." And with that, I took the cordless and dashed to my room.

I put the phone back to my ear to hear: "_…a? Sora? Answer me, dammit!_"

"Sorry," I breathed into the phone. "But, Kairi, I owe you. Big time."

"_Oh? Why's that?"_

I flopped down on my bed. "Ah, nothing."

"_So?_"

"So what?"

"_So what happened? What did you guys do after you left?_" I could discern the suggestive note in her voice, coupled with blatant amusement.

"N-Nothing!" I said.

"_Liar._"

"W-We were going to go to his house to watch a movie and stuff—"

"_And stuff_," she repeated, and I swear she was about to do one of those creepy, fangirl cackles.

I ignored it. "—but…something happened, so we got ice cream instead."

"_What happened?_" she asked with genuine curiosity.

"Uh…well… I don't know if he wants me to go around telling people."

"_Oh._" I could hear the slight disappointment and bit my lip. "_Well, that's okay._" Instantly, she went back to her chipper, if not over-excited, self. "_But you guys made-out, right?_"

"Kairi!" I groaned.

"_Please tell me! Come on!_"

"And what good will it do you? Is it going to improve your life? Is it going to end world hunger? Will it bring peace on Earth?" I demanded exaggeratedly.

"_It might. And if it doesn't, it'll at least make me a very happy girl._"

I sighed heavily, making sure she could hear it. "All right, yes, we did."

I heard her giggle crackle over the phone. "_How many times?_"

"It was good speaking to you, too, Kairi!" I said and made to hang up.

"_All right, all right_," she conceded, still giggling. "_Well, I'll talk to you tomorrow._"

"'kay. Night, Kairi."

"_Night Sora. Pleasant wet dreams._"

"What?" I was answered by the dial tone. I sighed again, turning the phone off. She was a strange one, that Kairi. Sometimes I had to think really hard to remind myself of just _why _she was my best friend.

With that, I wriggled out of Kairi's tight jeans, letting out a breath of relief as they hit the floor, followed by my shirt and that insufferable dog collar-like accessory. It felt so good to flop onto my bed in just my boxers, free from the restraints of those suffocating clothes.

I drew my hand over my face and laughed as I remembered Riku's reaction to my outfit. That had to have been the most intense make-out session so far. If just an outfit could spur that sort of response, then maybe I wouldn't mind wearing it more often.

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The snippet of that song in there was _Rescue Me _by **Unwritten Law**. Me no ownie!

And so, the truth is revealed! What'dya think? Review, please! Feed the fire of my inspiration!


	10. Pride and Prejudice

**Chances in Life**

_XO'MagickMoon'OX _

**.Chapter X. **Pride and Prejudice

**A/N: **Thank you to everyone! Your reviews make my heart happy. :3

**AbnormallyWeirdPerson: **Thanks again, as usual! -**glomps ch00**- Your reviews are always appreciated. And yes, Kairi did catch Riku and Sora making-out, which I sorta forgot about when I wrote their phone conversation... but uh, yeah, she meant after Riku and Sora left. 'Cause, ya know, she wasn't there to see it that time, so she wanted to be informed. ;) And I don't know about Riku and Sora's (wet) dreams... It would have been a fun scene to write, though. Gah, I should've put it in. Oh well. Anyway, thanks again for the wonderful review!

**-Zeida-and-Maria-: **I'm glad you like my stories, both this and _Deadly Desire_. Haha, yush, there are a few "Riku-in-a-band" stories out there, and definitely a few vampire fics. But I just love writing my own versions of them. Anyway, thank you so much for the awesome review! I don't mind long ones; actually, I feed off of them. XD

**Blackened-wings: -munches on cookie- **Thanks for the cookies and the review! Of course, you know I love your reviews. :D It's awesome that you play trumpet (and learning to play clarinet).I admire wind/brass players, 'cause you have to have really strong lungs. It's weird moving from the violin to the flute, because when playing string instruments you sometimes _forget _to breathe, and with wind instruments, you _have _to breathe... a lot. So needless to say, I get really dizzy if I practice the flute for too long. XD Anyway, I'm glad you think Riku and Sora's relationship is developing nicely. :) And of course Riku wouldn't be the only one who'd love to see Sora wearing that outfit again -**grins with you**- Haha, anyway, thanks again!

**Anon19: **8D Thank you so much for the insight! Yes, I figured that not everyone in a Catholic school would be homophobic, and I know that not all of them would be "pure". When I said that Sora was pure and innocent, I didn't mean to connect it directly to his being Catholic or anything.I was implying that because he's never had a boyfriend, he's never had any "experience", and he's never had a boyfriend before because of his Catholic-school environment. And it is true that, of course, there would be many people who have no problem with homosexuality, and probably quite a few yaoi fans (like you and your friends :D). However, in Sora's particular Catholic school, there are a lot of homophobes...which is why he's so nervous about people finding out that he's gay. Any time I make references to the homophobe-ness of Sora's school, keep in mind that it's just his particular school, not Catholic schools in general. You'll find out more about just how horrible his homophobic classmates can be in this chapter. Anyway, again, thank you so much for the insight, and for the awesome review:) Much appreciated.

Anyway, before we start the chapter, **PLEASE READ:**

The stuff in this chapter is not meant to be offensive in any way. It deals a lot with religion, but please keep in mind that I, myself, am Christian and would never dream of bashing Christianity.

Also, I do not own the song _Things I'll Never Say _by Avril Lavigne. Nor do I own Marluxia, Larxene, or Zexion. I usually don't put disclaimers for the KH characters, but some people (like me) probably haven't played Chain of Memories, and might not know these particular characters.

Okay, that said, on with the chapter! Enjoy!

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**/Sora's POV/**

The weekend passed in a sort of blur. A blur of riffling through my Chemistry textbook and typing up my Honors Literature research paper and babysitting my little cousins. I had no time to see Riku, but I talked to him every night on the phone. He said his parents were leaving soon; he spent most of his time holed up in his room or out at one of his band-mates' houses. He said he and Sephiroth'd stayed the night Saturday at Leon's house. The waters between Leon and Riku's older brother were turbulent, from what Riku'd told me, ever since the concert Friday night and their run-in with Cloud. I'd have to ask my elusive History teacher about it later. Or maybe I could ask Aerith. Since she was Cloud's "high school sweetheart", she had to have been there when everything that was now causing so much tension had happened.

Come Monday afternoon, I found myself practically dragging my feet to the exit door. Needless to say, I hadn't gotten much sleep over the weekend, what with my nightly phone conversations and daily activities. I swear I could still hear my cousins' shouts ringing in my ears. I passed the principal in the hallway and he smiled at me, as he did with everyone. I smiled back, out of politeness. Principal Xemnas, aside from having a very peculiar name, often disturbed me with his mere presence. As I watched him stroll away from me, I noted that he had silver hair like Riku, even though (again, like Riku) his face looked too young for his hair to be graying already. Of course, Riku's hair was much prettier than Principal Xemnas's. I'd bet it was softer, too.

Speaking of my boyfriend, upon leaving the school, guess who I ran into?

"Hey there," he purred, pushing me into the brick wall before pressing his lips firmly against mine.

My heart immediately quickened, and not just from the usual pre-make-out-session-with-Riku jitters. I looked around nervously before lightly pushing Riku away. Hurt flashed briefly through his eyes, which in turn made me feel incredibly guilty, but it was quickly replaced with confusion. I smiled apologetically at him, saying, "Not here."

"Why?" he asked, gently stroking the side of my face with his thumb. As much as I wanted to lean into his touch, I resisted.

"Because…well, there's too many people around."

He gave a sort of halfhearted smirk. "What's wrong? You've never had much of a problem with PDA before."

"PDA?"

He shook his head, chuckling in a way that was far too sexy to have been natural. "You're so cute," he murmured, before adding, "PDA: Public Displays of Affection."

"Oh. I knew that." And the _Idiot of the Year Award_ goes to… I stepped away from the wall and a potentially compromising position, saying, "No, I don't mind. It's just…uh, well, this is my _school_, the homophobe capital of the nation."

Riku cocked his head, a hand on his hip. "So?"

"Uh…well, I don't want to draw their unwanted attention."

He nodded, seeming to decide to respect my wishes, though I could tell that his inner rebel was fighting for release. "All right."

"Are you…here to pick me up?" I asked, changing the subject.

"Of course. You and Kairi, if you'd like."

I smiled at him; he was so sweet sometimes. "Sure. I'll call Aerith and tell her not to come."

And so I did. Shortly after, Kairi arrived on the scene, swinging her backpack 'round and humming some sort of whimsical tune. Upon spotting Riku, she waved brightly and pounced on him, ensconcing him in a tight hug. "RIKU-SAMA!" she exclaimed over his shoulder in her fangirl squeal-like voice.

I rolled my eyes. "Did Selphie (unwisely) give you too much sugar again?" I asked tiredly.

She grinned, nodding enthusiastically. "TONS!" she practically yelled in my ear, having released Riku from her Fangirl Hug of Death. I winced, pushing her away.

"I…don't know if you want to drive with her in the car, intoxicated as she is," I told Riku.

He just brushed it off with a lazy wave of his hand. "I've suffered through car rides with a piss-drunk Yuffie, I think I can handle a sugar-high Kairi."

As we started towards Riku's car, Kairi shouted, "WAIT! I FORGOT MY NOTEBOOK!" and dashed back into the school. I shook my head. We heard her call, "GO ON! I'LL CATCH UP!" and continued towards the parking lot.

Riku unlocked his car and slid into the driver's seat while I scooted into the passenger side. It seemed like the second the lock on my door clicked into place Riku was grabbing the back of my head and pulling me into a hot kiss. His tongue wasted no time in slipping between my lips, trying to dominate me. Suddenly, I felt a surge of competition rush through my veins and decided to take the reigns of the situation. I pushed him back, our lips still fused, and clambered into his lap, straddling it the best I could with the close quarters. I forced his tongue back into his mouth with mine, and I think that the only reason I could even accomplish such a feat was because he was too surprised to react. Sure enough, opening my eyes, I saw his opened, too, and wide. I just smirked through the kiss and grabbed the sides of his face, tilting my head to deepen the contact. Soon, his eyes were closed again and he was leaning his head back into his seat (I think I even heard him moan), completely willing to let me dominate. It was a weird feeling, a powerful feeling. I liked it.

Pulling back, I smiled at him and he smiled blearily in return. His breathing was heavy and his face was flushed, and I had a very strong inkling that it had been a long time since someone had made _him_ submit, even if just a little. He tried to pull me back in for another kiss, and I was more than ready to oblige, except something caught my eye.

I gasped, parting quickly, and squeaked, "K-KAIRI!"

She was sitting in the back seat, grinning like the Cheshire Cat. "Oh, by all means," she said a little too sweetly, "continue."

Riku groaned with frustration and hit his head forcefully against his headrest. "And it was just getting good," he muttered angrily under his breath.

"Yes, yes it was," Kairi agreed.

I felt my face heat fiercely and thought that I must have been blushing a red that would make a tomato jealous. From Riku's amused smirk, I had no doubt that my suspicion was dead-on.

Kairi crossed her legs and leaned her elbow on a knee, perching her chin in her palm. "You know," she said, "you two are _really _hot together."

"Kairi!" I protested.

"I mean, Sora has this little innocent cherub-like naïveté thing going on, while Riku's some sensuous creature borne from the blackness of night—"

Oh no, she was feeling poetic. This was about to get explicit.

"—out to taint the chastity of the angel by seducing him into his bed, where he will proceed to take the angel (multiple times), listening to the screams for harder and faster and moreohpleaseohgod, and then—"

"KAIRI!" I practically screeched. At that point, I probably resembled something redder than a tomato, something like wine. I buried my face into Riku's neck, pleading, "Make her stop, Ri-ku!"

He laughed. "I don't know. I was sorta getting into it—"

"I'm surrounded by perverts!" I lamented dramatically, throwing my arms up in defeat.

"Well, I don't think you sitting on my lap as you are is making matters any better," Riku casually pointed out.

Was there anything redder than wine? If there was, then that was the color of my face after Riku's last comment.

"Sorry," I mumbled, sliding back into my respective seat.

Riku just laughed again. "Don't be sorry. It's not as if I didn't want you sitting there." He started up the car, pulling out of his spot, adding, "I actually wouldn't've minded if you hadn't moved. Of course, then we'd probably still be here in the parking lot come nightfall."

"I don't think I'd have minded either!" Kairi chirped. "It's not every day that a girl gets to witness something like that." She leaned forward as we left the school vicinity, asking, "Hey, do you think you could make me a tape or something?"

I groaned, sinking down into my seat and burying my face in my hands. I didn't even bother trying to think of something my face probably resembled at that point, seeing so there probably wasn't anything in existence that could rival my blush. I'd have to contact Crayola and tell them I'd thought up a new one for stock of make-believe colors: "Sora's Blush Red". I could make millions.

I shook my head and sighed, asking, "Hey, Riku? Is this…gonna become routine, now?"

"What?" he asked.

"Uh…you picking us up from school."

"Sure. I'd like that," he said, smiling sincerely.

"Ohhh, Sora, then you have to tell him about tomorrow!"

"What's tomorrow?" he questioned, looking at Kairi through his rearview mirror.

"Me and Sora are gonna be staying after school tomorrow, so you'll have to come later."

"For what?"

"Nothing," I said hurriedly, sitting back up in my seat only to wish I could dissolve back into it.

"We're trying out for the spring school play!" Kairi told him. "It's _Guys and Dolls_."

"You are?" Riku asked, looking over at me briefly.

I nodded.

"You like to act?"

"Uh…not really," I said. "I mean, I do, it's just…not my passion. I don't really have a passion, per se, so I just sorta do all kinds of things. Like acting."

"Oh, I see. So, can I come watch you try out?"

"N-No!" I stuttered. "You don't have to…and I'd really rather you didn't. I'd be too embarrassed and mess up."

"When will you learn not to be embarrassed around me?" he asked, though he didn't sound particularly sad or anything, just curious.

I laughed nervously. "I don't know. I just…" I shrugged. "I don't know."

"So, what time are you going to be done?"

"Uh…around…quarter of four."

"Okay. I'll meet you then."

We were all quiet for a moment, until Kairi said, "Hey, let's turn on the radio."

I leaned forward and pushed some button that seemed as if it would activate the radio, which it did.

"…_ening to Y105.6_," a woman's voice crackled through the speakers, followed by some catchy jingle that'd be stuck in my head later. Then, the song started, a familiar chord sounding through the car underlying a pretty voice singing an introduction of gibberish. Then, the actual lyrics formulated over the wistful melody.

"_I'm tugging at my hair, I'm pulling at my clothes.  
I'm trying to keep my cool, I know it shows.  
I'm staring at my feet, my cheeks are turning red.  
I'm searching for the words inside my head._"

"_And_ _I'm feeling nervous, trying to be so perfect,  
'Cause I know you're worth it, you're worth it (yeah)_."

I laughed, saying, "Do you ever feel like there are little people in the radio trying to send you messages? Like, they know what's going on inside your head."

"………………………_away_._  
Be with you every night. Am I squeezing you too tight?_"

Riku cast me a sidelong glance, replying, "Uh…well, I don't really listen to the radio all that much. It's too arbitrary, you can never find the song you're looking for."

"Hm. So I guess you don't feel like there are little people in the radio," I said, shrugging.

"………………… _marry me today, yes, I'm wishing my life away,  
With these things I'll never say._"

"_It don't do me any good, it's just a waste of time.  
What use is it to you what's on my mind?  
If it ain't coming out, we're not going anywhere.  
So why can't I just tell you that I care?_"

"'_Cause_ _I'm feeling nervous, trying to be so perfect,  
'Cause I know you're worth it, you're worth it (yeah-eah-eah)_."

"_If I could say what I want to say_,_ I'd say I wanna blow you...away_._  
Be with you every night. Am I squeezing you too tight?  
If I could say what I want to see, I want to see you go down—  
On one knee, marry me today, yes, I'm wishing my life away,  
'These things I'll never say._"

"_What's wrong with my tongue?  
These words keep slipping away.  
I stutter, I stumble, like I've got nothing to say._"

"'_Cause_ _I'm feeling nervous, trying to be so perfect,  
'Cause I know you're worth it, you're worth it (yeah!)_."

"You like this song?" Riku asked me. I noticed then that I'd started to tap my foot, rocking my head from side to side as I looked out the window.

"Yeah," I answered. "It's old, but…I don't know, I like the lyrics. It's a nice song. Don't you think?" I turned to him, a happy grin in place.

He nodded shortly. "Sure, it's pretty good."

"_Yes, I'm wishing my life away,  
'These things I'll never say._"

Kairi leaned forward, tweaking my ear. "Aw, Sora, you're so cute. It sounds like you can relate to the song, eh?"

"What?" I felt a familiar blush creeping back and tried to bid it away. I saw Riku's amused expression out of the corner of my eye.

"………………….……_away_._  
Be with you every night. Am I squeezing you too tight?  
If I could say what I want to see, I want to see you go down—  
On one knee, marry me today, yes, I'm wishing my life away,  
'These things I'll never say._"

"'_These things I'll never say._"

---

"Oh, I was _horrible!_" I groaned, slinging my backpack over my shoulder as we made our way to the door the following afternoon.

"No, you were not. _I _was horrible," Kairi said, though she was smiling brightly as per usual.

"You were great," I muttered.

"I'm sure we'll both get the parts," Kairi assured me, putting a friendly hand on my shoulder. "You underestimate yourself too much."

I shrugged, pushing open one of the double glass doors. Then, something snagged the corner of my vision and made my heart thud nervously. I quickened my pace, pulling Kairi with me.

"Sora!" she gasped. "What's wrong?"

I shook my head and kept walking—erm, run-walking. "It's…uh, those guys," I said.

"What guys?"

"Hiya, Sora!"

My stomach sank as my path was suddenly blocked. "_Those_ guys," I muttered.

"How's the little fairy doing today?" one of them asked with a sickeningly sweet voice.

Kairi glared at him. "Back off, Demyx," she growled.

"Oh, feisty." He grinned evilly.

A strong hand landed on my shoulder, making me jump. "We saw you with your little boyfriend yesterday," an all too familiar voice practically purred in my ear. A nauseating shudder ricocheted down my spine.

"Wh-What boyfriend?" I asked, playing dumb.

"The tall one, the guy that looks like a girl," the voice elaborated. "The pansy, like you."

"What, were you spying on them?" Kairi demanded. "You get off on watching two boys kiss, Marluxia?"

Marluxia smirked at her, undeterred. "Is it our fault that they have no shame?"

"Shut up!" Kairi shouted. "Leave us alone."

"Or you'll what?" a third asked. He brushed a purplish lock of hair out of his face, no emotion displayed on his countenance. "Have your fairy hit us with his magic wand?"

So I was no pushover. I'd gotten in a fair amount of fights over the course of my lifetime, and I generally walked away victorious, however bloodied and/or bruised. I could hold my own pretty well. But now, I was outnumbered. I knew what was coming, and I had no way to stop it. And the thought made me want to throw up.

"Hey, Axel, get over here, man!" Demyx called to the redhead leaning against the wall. Axel's green eyes regarded Demyx dully and he shook his head no. Demyx waved his hand dismissively, saying, "You're no fun."

"Can it, Demyx," the only girl of the group demanded. I knew her. She had a frighteningly stormy temper and a sharp tongue, not a force to be reckoned with.

"Screw you, Larxene," Demyx growled.

"Well, Sora," Marluxia's hand hadn't left my shoulder yet, "this is the final straw. We've warned you before to quit your little fag charade, but you didn't listen to us. What a pity." His grip tightened, making me wince. "You know what the Bible says about people like you."

This was what I hated the most about the homophobes in my school. They all thought that the few references to homosexuality in the Bible justified their actions. They would conveniently forget that God was supposed to be all-loving, that He was supposed to care about all of His children equally, no matter who they were or what they did. They would conveniently forget the God made all people, men, women, of every race, every sexuality. And they would conveniently forget that God would never damn one of His children for being attracted to their own gender. No, they would turn to the Bible—a book that had been written thousands of years ago, and a book that has been reinterpreted and translated countless times throughout the centuries—to justify their actions. It was cowardly. "Stop it, Marluxia. I haven't done anything to you! Why are you doing this?" I asked him.

"Because you—queers like you—deserve to burn in Hell. You deserve to suffer for your perversion," he answered, his voice twisted with something foul. And with that, he tore his hand away from my shoulder, only to return it, balled into a fist, with a renewed force to my stomach.

I gasped and doubled over, pain rippling through my abdomen.

"STOP IT!" Kairi screamed. Out of the corner of my vision, I saw Larxene grab her wrists and throw her sideways. Kairi fell sprawled across the concrete, tears in her eyes. Quickly, she scrambled to her feet and took off in the direction of the parking lot.

"Coward," Larxene spat after her.

Then, I was being pulled to my feet. My heart was pounding, my throat tight, and shame burned in my cheeks. I wouldn't let them do this without a fight. I ran at Marluxia and punched him across the jaw, a sickening _crack _emanating from the collision. He swore under his breath, and before I knew it, someone was kicking the small of my back, knocking the wind from me and causing me to collapse to my knees. I heard Demyx laugh somewhere behind me.

And it just all went downhill from there.

­**/Riku's POV/**

I pulled into the first parking spot I could find (which wasn't very hard, considering the lot was mostly empty) and killed the engine. Stepping out of my car, I brushed a skewed bang out of my eyes and closed the door behind me, locking the car with a definite _click_. As I turned to go find Sora and Kairi, I realized I didn't have to look far; Kairi was running my way.

"RIKU!" she shouted in a manner that was the polar opposite of her usually chipper tone, immediately making my suspicions rise. Something was wrong. Once she reached me, she didn't waste a minute and grabbed my wrist, tugging me along with her. "It's Sora!" she told me over her shoulder.

That did it. I pulled my wrist free and raced ahead of her. "T-Turn left!" she called to me. And when I did, I swear everything flashed red. Blood-red. Same as the splatters across the white pavement.

I didn't know who these bastards were, but they were dead men. I yanked the only brunet of the group back by his hair. He swore and tried to twist around in my grasp, but I held him fast and threw him against the nearest wall. He growled and pounced on me, knocking me to my back. I wrestled him until our positions were reversed, with me sitting on top, and began attacking his face with my fists. I felt something graze my shoulder and tensed, waiting for the blow of one of the other guys, but it never came. Leaving the brunet to tend to his blood-stained nose, I turned to see the blonde guy on his back with Sora stepping on his chest. Sora grinned shakily at me before delivering another kick to the blonde's side.

I spared a brief smile at Sora before rounding on the girl I was now noticing the presence of and punched her forcefully in the stomach, sending her reeling backwards into the brick wall. I kicked her in her side and then kicked her again for good measure. She seemed to concede and laid still, looking up at me with something akin to fear in her eyes. It wasn't fear exactly; I had a feeling she was too proud to let it show that she was afraid. Turning, I saw the other bastard, some freak with purple-gray hair, staring coolly at me. It didn't look like he was going to attack me, but I still wanted to kick his ass, I was so angry. So I settled for shoving him roughly back into his brown-haired friend, who was still trying to catch his sparse breath.

"Wh-What the hell?" the brunet panted, glaring heatedly at me.

"If you _ever_," I growled, grabbing both the freak and the brunet by their collars and pushing them up against the wall, "touch him again, I _will_ make you regret it."

The brunet spat in my face, causing me to cringe. "Fucking queer," he sneered.

I dropped the freak and wiped my dirtied cheek with my now-free hand, then bringing it back and launching it strongly into the brunet's gut. He choked, saliva dribbling down his chin, and I dropped him to the floor before kicking him in the first available spot I could find. "Bastard," I snarled at him.

"That's enough."

I turned to see yet another freak, this one with fire engine-red hair and poisonous green eyes, triangular tattoos marking his high cheekbones. His arms were folded as he came towards us, and he was smirking. My hands clenched automatically, preparing to knock this guy into next Sunday, too, if need be.

"Down boy," he said to me easily, an amused laugh underlying his voice. I hated him already. My eyes didn't leave him once as he pulled the brunet to his feet, slinging one of his arms around his shoulder. "Come on, Marly," he murmured. The purple-haired freak straightened his uniform and took the dirty-blonde-haired guy by the arm. The girl followed them as they left, heading towards what I assumed was the parking lot. I didn't really care.

Taking greedy, deep breaths I found Sora sitting on the ground, his head lowered. My heart was pounding as I reached a finger under his chin and lifted his face to mine. I swallowed the gasp that tried to escape my throat as I examined the damage. Sora's nose and lip were smeared with blood, his face pink and stained with tears. There was a shallow gash in the side of his forehead, scarlet rivulets trickling down the side of his beautiful face, which was currently flecked with dirt. My breathing, which I had been trying in vain to slow, sped up again as I fought away the violent twisting in my chest. My eyes traveled down from his face to the rest of his body. His sleeve was torn, and one of the buttons on his jacket was missing, and there was a rip in his jeans, blood lazily seeping through the frayed fabric from the angry scrape on his knee. And judging from the way it seemed to hurt for him to breathe, I guessed he'd have many, many bruises covering his body come tomorrow.

If those bastards were still here, I swear I'd have killed them.

Sora laughed nervously, pulling my gaze back to his, which was shyly trying to avoid mine. "I-I'm so-sorry for…being such a h-hassle…" he murmured.

My eyes widened, and my voice sounded desperate and broken as I cried, "Are you insane!" I instantly bit my tongue guiltily as hurt flashed across his battered countenance. I heaved a heavy, wavering sigh and wrapped my arms around him, pulling him close to me. "You have no reason to apologize," I whispered into the top of his head. His hair smelled like sweat and blood, but underneath there was his usual scent, something soft and sweet, like strawberries or daisies. "What happened?" I asked him. "Why were they…all over you like that?"

He made some sort of choked sound and snuggled close to my chest. "J-Just a…bunch of h-homophobes," he replied.

"Homophobes?"

"Y-Yeah…they, uh, saw us together yesterday and…well…"

My breath caught in my throat, my hold unconsciously tightening around Sora. I felt sick. I swear, my insides had frozen, I was so cold then. What was this feeling? Regret? Guilt? …Heartache? Well, my heart did feel like it was suddenly made of ice; I could practically hear the fractures webbing through it. "I…I'm sorry, Sora…" My voice sounded cracked, as if I was on the verge of tears. Which I think I was. "I'm so sorry… It's all my fault… I should have been more careful. I should have…" I started rambling, murmuring into his crown and not really knowing half of what was leaving my mouth.

I felt a hand on the side of my face, the palm scraped and damp with blood. I opened my eyes (when had I closed them?) and looked down to see Sora smiling sadly up at me. "It's okay, Riku. It's…not your fault… I've always had to deal with people like them."

…Always…?

"But…you shouldn't have to…" I said. "Things shouldn't be like that… Just because—"

"I know. I don't understand it, either. But that's the way the world is, right?"

"But it shouldn't be!" I nearly shouted, as if it was Sora's fault the world was so fucked up. Of course it wasn't, but I couldn't stop my voice from rising the few decibels that it did. My jaw was quivering. "You didn't do anything wrong," I said, my tone gentler, but nonetheless desperate. "You didn't… Why… I just…" I couldn't find the words to finish my sentences. They just hung, fragmentary, in the air, and I had a feeling that Sora was able to fill them in anyway.

"I know," he murmured.

I shook my head. Taking another look at Sora's bloodied face, I leaned down and kissed him softly. I didn't mind the metallic tang that filled my mouth as I slipped my tongue between his lips; it was all Sora, and therefore I savored the taste. Pulling back, I whispered across his lips, "Let's get out of here." He nodded and I helped him to his feet. Kairi came forward then, probably having watched the whole ordeal from a respective distance, and asked Sora if he was okay. He said that he was, but I decided that he wasn't. Nothing was okay.

This world was so fucked up.

---

* * *

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**A/N:** Gah! It was so hard to write Marluxia and those guys as homophobic bastards, but I did it for the sake of the story! So, now that we've dealt with Riku's angst, what'dya think of Sora's? Again, this chapter was in no way meant to bash Christianity. Review please!


	11. Riku's Hamartia

**Chances in Life**

_XO'MagickMoon'OX_

**.Chapter XI. **Riku's Hamartia

**A/N: **Once again, thank you to all my wonderful reviewers! I love you all. :3

**Insomniak: **I'm glad my story can make you feel. :D

**RMSTitanic89: **Hehe, yes, I made Sora "more dominant"-ish. I actually think I would've been stuck on the scene in the car if you hadn't suggested that; it would have been a hackneyed make-out scene with Riku dominating and Sora musing. Blah blah blah. But, thanks to you, I was able to add a little twist. ;) And you hinted that Kairi should have a boyfriend. I would give her one, if I knew who to pair her up with. The only one I can see anything happening with with her is Sora, and, well, we know that won't happen in this story. Any suggestions?

**-Zeida-and-Maria-: **Yeah, I've seen the stories where Riku's the singer. I think mine is the only one where he's a bassist... I wonder what he'd be like if he was the drummer. -**muses**- Anyway, I figured it was best to make him the bassist, because I can relate easiest to that. Also, bass is just a kick-ass instrument. XD And you mentioned about my making Axel a homophobic bastard... hehehe, well, think back to how he wasn't really involved in the fight. There'll be more on him in the next chapter, and you'll find out his real story.

**RainbowSerenity: -munches on cookie- **I'm glad you liked the Crayola comment. It's true, though, that they have all of these make-believe colors. Well, maybe not make-believe colors, but make-believe names. Like "macaroni" or "robin's egg blue". So, I figured that they could quite possibly have a "Sora's Blush Red", no? XD And I'm glad that my story was able to have some sort of effect on you; I like those stories the best, don'tcha think? Stories that you can relate to and/or make you feel something. And nice picking up the thing about Axel; there'll be more on his story in the next chapter. Hehehe... Well, here's more of Riku's stubborn denial. You'll probably still want to stab him with a spork. XD

**AbnormallyWeirdPerson**: Hahaha, yup, Sora didn't know what "PDA" was. I know it was a while before I learned what it was. Or maybe that was "TLC"... ah, either way. And yes, Sora was more dominant; nice surprise for Riku, ne? Well, you have RMSTitanic89 to thank for that; they were the once who suggested I make Sora dominate more. _Guys and Dolls _is a play about...um...well, men and women. It involves gambling and Christian missionaries and romance, lying and deceiving, and a whole bunch of stuff like that (you can probably find a summary on Wikipedia or something). My high school theatre company performed that play in the spring, so that's where that came from. :D I don't know if Sora and Kairi will get the parts or anything; I actually only included that part 'cause I needed Sora to be at school around a time when not a lot of teachers would be there so he could get beat up. Gah, I know, that's horrible of me, but ah well. :);; So I probably won't be focusing on that much, though, now that you've mentioned it, I'll probably mess around with it a little more. I believe the same about the Bible, that it was written by people and that it's probably not the direct word of God. When it comes to the Bible, I look for the main message, which is about the loving and forgiving nature of God, and don't focus on the little details, as you never know who _really _came up with them. And yes, it does feel good to rant/ramble about that kind of stuff. I do it all the time, so feel free to do it, too:D As for Sora's roll in the fight, I figured that since Sora was the main character of _Kingdom Hearts_, the hero, to boot, with all of the kick-ass moves and abilities, that it would be very OOC to make him some wimp. And you also picked up on Axel's little quirk; what is he hiding? Well, his story is to be revealed in the next chapter. Okay, I've rambled long enough. Enjoy the chapter!

**The Glass Slipper: **Ah, your Catholic school sounded nice. Nothing like Sora's, ne:) Dominant Sora was fun to write! You can RMSTitanic89 to thank for that. They suggested I make him a little more dominant. And poetic Kairi... hehe, I think I'm modeling her character after me. After all, her character in the game is pretty shallow, so it's fun to write her 'cause you can twist her every which way and no one will really complain.

**Novelist: **Sorry for the confusion! Well, I never mentioned Zexion's name. But he was there. He was here:

"_Or you'll what?" a third asked. He brushed a purplish lock of hair out of his face, no emotion displayed on his countenance. "Have your fairy hit us with his magic wand?"_

And here:

_Turning, I saw the other bastard, some freak with purple-gray hair, staring coolly at me. It didn't look like he was going to attack me, but I still wanted to kick his ass, I was so angry. So I settled for shoving him roughly back into his brown-haired friend, who was still trying to catch his sparse breath._

I tried to work his name in there somewhere, but it felt kinda awkward anywhere I tried to put it. It sounded weird enough having all of these people that know each other addressing each other so randomly. Anyway, sorry again, though:);; Hehehe, I don't really think Kairi forgot her notebook either. I was thinking about mentioning that, that her running away was just a ploy to get Sora and Riku alone in the car, but ah. I left it open for interpretation! And like I said above somewhere, I think I'm modeling Kairi after me, or my inner yaoi fangirl. ;) And as for the using other senses in your writing, I'm glad you're noticing it in mine. If you ever think there's some sort of digusting imbalance of using the senses in my stories, feel very free to point it out! Like I told you, I'm still trying to break out of my habit of focusing on sight.

**Akira-of-the-Demons: **Hope this chapter makes you happier! And, the question is, is Axel really a homophobe? That shall be revealed in the next chapter. :)

Aaaanyway, here's the next installment of _Chances in Life_. Enjoy!

* * *

_Hamartia _(άμαρτία): 

A "tragic flaw" in the character of the protagonist (the tragic hero).

Also, a "tragic mistake" where the character makes one fatal mistake based on an incomplete self knowledge

* * *

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**/Riku's POV/**

By the time we were walking up Sora's front porch steps, I was carrying him bridal-style. He'd protested at first, saying that he felt like a girl, but I just shushed him and told him to stop moving as he'd struggled in my hold. He'd winced from even the small movements he was making (I could tell his head was throbbing) and conceded grudgingly, snuggling into my chest.

Kairi opened the door for us, stepping through and calling to Sora's parents. I pushed through the doorway, leaning against the cold wood as the door closed behind us. I was still carrying Sora like he was a delicate damsel, and I didn't really care that he was blushing as his parents came into the foyer.

"Sora!" his mom gasped. She rushed forward, brushing his bangs aside.

He peered up at her, giving a shaky smile. "Hey Mom."

"What happened to you!" she all but shrieked.

"I just…got into a fight at school…" he explained lamely. I rolled my eyes.

"Not again!" his mother groaned. "Sora, this has to stop! Look at you!" Then, as if suddenly realizing my existence, she looked up at me and asked, "Who are you?"

I jumped, a little startled at the sudden attention, and answered, "Riku Ishiguro, ma'am."

"Oh, so _you're _Riku." She smiled at me, her previous frenzy seemingly dissipated.

"Um… Mrs. Tsukada, do you mind if we take Sora to his room?" Kairi asked. She cast me a sidelong glance, and I silently thanked her. I seemed to do that a lot.

"Sure," she said.

I nodded and started towards the stairs, but Sora's father's voice stayed my feet. "Is Sora incapable of walking by himself?"

I started, glancing at him over my shoulder. "Uh…yeah, he twisted his ankle," I lied smoothly, tacking on a polite "sir" as an afterthought. Getting on my boyfriend's parents' bad side wasn't high on my list of priorities. Of course, from the distinct aura his parents were radiating, I suspected that they had no idea I was Sora's boyfriend. Regardless, I didn't want to get on their bad side.

When no more was said, I continued on my way, Kairi leading me to Sora's room, though I was pretty sure I remembered where it was from my prior visit to it. Before we'd gotten out of earshot, I heard Mrs. Tsukada say, "Well, he's certainly a handsome boy." I smirked, despite the situation, and listened to Mr. Tsukada's quiet reply of "Hn".

Closing Sora's door behind us, I made my way to his bed and gingerly laid him down. He was still blushing and muttering something that involved the words "am not" and "girl". I just smiled at him and placed a kiss on his forehead.

There was a knock on his door, and his parents came in a moment later. His mother was carrying a bottle of antiseptic and a box of bandages, as well as a warm washcloth. She busied herself with fixing him up while I perched on the end of Sora's bed. Kairi sat in the chair at his desk.

"So," his father spoke, "how do you know Sora again?"

Oh boy, here came the Q & A. And he didn't even know I was Sora's boyfriend yet! I wondered what the Q & A would be like if he actually knew about Sora and my relationship. "We met at the mall a few weeks ago," I answered, composed as ever.

"Where do you go to school?"

"The public high school."

"What grade are you in?"

"I'm a senior."

"Ah, so this is your last year. Are you planning on going to college?"

"Uh, yeah. I got accepted to the community college."

"Why not somewhere else? Bad grades?"

"Dad!" Sora yelped from the bed, then hissing as antiseptic was dabbed onto the gash in his forehead.

I just laughed and shook my head. "No, I'm an _A_-_B_ student, but I don't really feel the need to ship myself off to some fancy college. As far as I'm concerned, my future's right here in this town. Or, currently, at least."

"And what future would that be?"

"Music. I'm in a band with my brother and our friends."

"Oh, that's right." Mr. Tsukada smiled. "Sora went to your performance the other night."

I nodded, grinning a little at the memory.

"They're amazing," Sora piped up.

"Yeah, you'll be seeing their albums on the shelves one day soon. Music videos on TV, songs on the radio, you know," Kairi added, gesticulating mildly with a hand.

"So, Sora," his mother spoke, packing up the medical supplies, "why were you in a fight?"

"Oh. Well…" I could see the confliction in his eyes, and knew then for sure that his parents had no idea that he was gay. "You know, they were just assholes looking for an easy target."

"Why are you an easy target?" his dad asked.

Sora shrugged. "I guess I look like one. I'm not exactly bodybuilder material or anything."

And thank the gods for that. Picturing a bodybuilder Sora was just… Ew. He was adorable the way he was.

"And I'm kinda short for my age," he continued.

I liked his height, too. I could hold him comfortably and he could put his head on my chest.

"Who were they, Sora? We'll call the school and tell the principal—"

"I don't know their names," Sora said. I got the feeling he was lying. "Just, don't worry about it."

"Don't worry about it!" his mother cried, aghast. "Sora, look at you! You're lucky you don't need stitches for that cut on the side of your head!"

"Mom, I'm fine now," he persisted. He looked tired, as if he'd had this argument—or some like it—many times before. It made my heart throb painfully to think about it. "I just…want to rest for a while."

His mother nodded curtly. "Fine. We'll talk more about it later."

With that, his parents left. Kairi glanced between me and Sora and gave a sort of half-smile. "I guess I'll get going now. You two probably want some time alone."

I chuckled and murmured my thanks before she waved cutely and left the room, closing the door gently behind her. And so Sora and I were left alone. I crawled from my spot on the edge of his bed until I was laying next to him. He rolled onto his side, looking at me with no trace of happiness on his face. I hated it. I liked to see him smile.

Blood was no longer smudged across his face. His lip and nose were clean again, and the gash on the side of his forehead was bandaged up neatly. Glancing down, I saw that his knee was fixed up, too. How many times have he and his family had to go through this routine? With Sora coming home, all battered and bloodied, and his mother having to clean him up and make the pain go away? Too many times, I decided. Sora was so beautiful, so perfect, so wonderful. Someone like him shouldn't have to suffer like this.

"Riku?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you all right?"

"…Why do you ask?"

"It…looks like you're about to cry."

"Oh." I felt my cheeks burn a little and rolled onto my back, rubbing at my stinging eyes. Dammit. It had been a long time since I'd last cried, and it had never been on account of someone else's issues; it had always been me wallowing in my own problems. But…I guess Sora wasn't just "someone else". He was…well, he was Sora. He was my boyfriend.

But why would that matter? I'd had plenty of boyfriends before, and I'd always been the sole cause of the majority of their pain, using them and then throwing them away, breaking their hearts. I'd never really felt guilty, and I'd never worried about _their _problems, _their _concerns. But here I was, practically in tears because of something that someone else had to deal with.

No, not "someone else". Sora.

I rolled back onto my side, feeling my tears return to whatever reservoir they'd escaped from, and stroked Sora's cheek with my thumb. He winced as I ran over a tender spot that was already starting to bruise. Once again, hatred for those bastards who'd done this to Sora reared its ugly head. I swear I'd make them pay. Sora didn't deserve this. He was the last person to deserve this.

Slowly, I leaned forward and pressed my lips gently against his, mindful of his soreness. He made a soft noise of approval and inched forward a little to increase the contact, and I took that as an invitation to pry his lips apart with my tongue. His lips were so soft, so perfect, curvaceous and pliant against my own mouth. His tongue eagerly met mine, lapping timidly, like a curious kitten. He tasted like blood and whatever he'd had for lunch, but beneath that was something so delicious that I knew that I was probably feeding some developing unhealthy addiction of mine by continuing to kiss him. But I didn't care. I think I wanted to be addicted to him, to his honey-sweet taste.

I rolled onto my back, pulling Sora on top of me, and slid my hands smoothly down his bared arms (his uniform jacket had been discarded sometime during his mother's treatment), loving the feel of his silken skin underneath my palms. He pulled his mouth away from mine grudgingly, only to surprise me by kissing along my jaw. Oh, he could be incredibly sexy when he wanted to be. He was moving towards my neck, and I rolled my head back to present him with more skin to kiss.

"Ahh!" I gasped when he bit down, and I could feel his smirk. Damn him and his coy seductiveness.

He giggled, whispering, "Looks like Riku has a sensitive neck."

Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck, and _fuck_. I had to turn this around before _he _was the one getting into _my _pants. It was supposed to be the other way around, dammit! But…I don't think I really minded which way things went. As long as I was with Sora, everything was fine and dandy (note the cheesy understatement).

_Knock. Knock. Knock._

Sora and I jumped simultaneously as his mother called, "Sora! I made some strawberries for you two!"

Sora laughed, sitting up. I did, too, and quickly transferred to his desk chair as his mom walked in, carrying a tray topped with a strawberry pyramid, two toothpicks standing proud at the top. She set it down on the end of the bed and Sora smiled at her, saying, "Thanks Mom."

She nodded. "So, what have you two been doing up here?"

I bit my lip to keep from laughing as I saw Sora blush brightly. "Nothing much," I covered for him. "Just talking."

"Oh. Well, don't let me interrupt!" she said, exiting the room as I thought dryly, _Too late for that._

Sora took one of the toothpicks and speared a particularly large red berry with it, popping it into his mouth. Some of the juice dribbled down his chin, and I groaned. Already turned on from our previous making-out, this was _not _an image I really needed. I shook my head and reclaimed my spot on his bed, leaning in and licking the strawberry juice off of his chin. He gasped, though it came out rather muffled, as he was still trying to eat the too big berry in his mouth. Finally, he swallowed (with a bit of difficulty) and went back to eating the strawberries. I just laughed at him and joined in, taking the other toothpick and sticking it through the nearest fruit.

Once they were all good and eaten, I set the tray on Sora's desk and then returned to his bed, laying down so that my back was propped against his pillows. He crawled up beside me and snuggled into my chest, curling his arms around my waist.

"Sora, are you okay?" I asked him.

"Hm? Why?"

"I mean, from earlier. What those guys did was just…unforgivable."

"Oh, that. I'm fine," he said. "I'm used to it by now. Though, it's never been as bad as it was today. That's why I've never really had a boyfriend before; sorta hard to find one with my environment. But, a few weeks ago Kairi decided that I needed someone, so she took me to the mall, and…well…you know what happened after that…" His voice trailed off, and he let it hang. He picked his train of thought back up, saying, "Thanks for coming to the rescue today." I could hear the smile in his tone.

"Always," I told him. I blinked, realizing that the word had slipped from my lips before I could stop it, or even know that I was going to say it. Why did things like that tend to happen around Sora?

"Riku, ya know what?" he said suddenly.

"What?" I answered, chuckling at the childlike eagerness in his voice.

"I remembered this dream I had once. The name of your band—_Kingdom Hearts_—reminded me of it. And I think…you were in the dream."

"Me?"

"Yeah. I had it a few years ago. I think I was…thirteen, maybe fourteen." He shrugged. "But, it started as a sort of nightmare about the time that I'd almost drowned. Me and my family had taken a trip to this archipelago off the west coast called Destiny Islands. The water… Well, your eyes remind me of it. It was so beautiful and clear and deep. My grandparents are living there now. So, one morning we went out to go swimming, and I got pulled under by the current. I would've drowned if my mom hadn't saved me.

"But, about a year later, I had a nightmare about that time. In the nightmare, I was suddenly standing in the water close to shore, but there were no other vacationers out swimming or anything, like there were when we were visiting the Islands. It was just me…and this boy who was standing out a little further. I had to squint to see who he was, but when he turned around, I was caught by these amazing aqua eyes, like your eyes. And his hair was silver, too, like yours, except a little shorter. He was a little shorter, too. He was like a younger version of you.

"So, anyway, there was this huge wave building behind him, but he didn't look afraid at all. He was smirking, and he held out his hand, as if expecting me to take it. I ran out to him, but before I could grab his hand, the wave crashed over us. I fell back into the water, drifting downwards, and when I opened my eyes, I could see him floating there, still holding out his hand. I tried to swim up and grab it, but I was suddenly swept backwards by the current or something, and then I was falling. I know I was falling through the water, but it didn't feel like water. Everything was dark, and I just kept _falling_. Before I'd reached the bottom of wherever I was—if there even _was _a bottom—I woke up."

I was silent for a moment, taking in everything he'd just told me, until I finally spoke. "Wow. That was one hell of a dream."

"It was weird. When I woke up, it didn't really feel like a dream, more like a _very _distant memory. But I knew it had to have been a dream." He reached underneath my shirt and began tracing lazy circles across my abdomen. It tickled. "And I swear that it was you who was in it. The boy…he looked just like you. And he had the same attitude as you, the same smirk. I just…I could never understand _why _I couldn't take his hand. It was so odd."

"Hm." I inhaled a deep breath, my nose picking up the aroma that was just utterly Sora. We were quiet after that, and I just laid there with him curled against me. I listened to the gentle sounds of his breathing, feeling his chest rise and fall with each inhale and exhale. It was soothing, like a long-forgotten lullaby. He was warm, and he seemed to fit into my arms like he was born there. Why did everything feel so _perfect _when I was with him?

When I was with him, I found that I couldn't tear my eyes away from him. When I wasn't with him, he was all I could think about. At night, he was all I dreamed about. I found myself achingly disappointed waking up each morning and not finding him next to me. And we hadn't even slept together yet!

"_But…you only kissed? That's a bit chaste for you. Generally it takes something a bit…more…to put you in this mood. Actually, even something a bit more wouldn't put you in this mood. You're just…you look like a love-struck teenager. You have this dreamy glaze to your eyes." _

I screwed my eyes shut, wondering why something Seph said _forever _ago was coming to me now. And I wasn't love-struck, dammit! I'd never be "love-struck", because it was impossible to be struck with something that didn't exist. Yes, love didn't exist. It was a figment of the whimsical imagination. Nothing more.

---

I left Sora's house around six o'clock. Getting into my car, I started up the engine and pulled out of the driveway. The silence seemed oppressive suddenly. Or maybe it was just that my thoughts were trying to drive me up a wall.

So I turned on the radio.

"_You're listening to Y105.6_," a woman's voice informed me, followed by some stupid little jingle. The jingle was quickly replaced with a charming melody plucked out on a guitar, or harpsichord or something. It was always impossible to tell with pop techno music.

"_Sometimes, the feeling is right; you fall in love for the first time.  
Heartbeat, and kisses so sweet, summertime love in the moonlight.  
A-yippee-ai-yay-o, a-yippee-ai-eh, a-yippee-ai-yay-o-ah_."

"_Now the summer is gone, you had to go back home.  
Please come and see me again; I've never felt more alone._"

"_Baby, I am missing you—_"

"_I want you by my side—_"

"_And I hope you miss me too._"

"_Come back and stay._"

"_I think about you everyday—_"

"_I really want you too._"

"_You swept my feet right off the ground,  
You're the love I've found_."

I scowled, deciding then to change the station. I'd never liked that group anyway. I hit the seek button, stopping on 95.7.

"…_You sexy thing and yeah you know it.  
You move around, now you show it._"

"_I'm not in love, it's just a phase that I'm going through.  
I'm always looking for something new, but—_"

O_kay! _Enough of that. I hit the seek button again, almost desperately.

"_This is E103.4_," a man chirped over the speakers. "_Hours of your favorite Disney classics, commercial-free!_"

Disney. Disney was good. There was no way that—

"_If there's a prize for rotten judgment, I guess I've already won that.  
No man is worth the aggravation; that's ancient history, been there, done that._"

"_Who d'ya think ya kidding? He's the Earth and Heaven to ya,  
Try to keep it hidden, honey we can see right through ya,  
Girl, ya can't conceal it, we know how ya feel and wh__o you're thinking of." _

"_No chance, no way, I won't say it, no, no._"

"_You swoon, you sigh, why deny it? Uh-oh_."

"_It's too cliché, I won't say I'm in love._"

This had to be a joke. Some sort of twisted, sick, horrible joke. There was no way—this was fucking _Disney _music, dammit! With a heavy sigh, I switched the station yet again. I was going to beat this thing. Those stupid little people in the radio weren't going to get the best of me!

"_Can you feel it crush you? Does it seem to bring the worst in you out?  
There's no running, no way from these things that hold you down.  
Do they complicate you, because they make you feel like this?  
Of all the colors that you've shined this is surely not you best._"

"_But you should know these colors that you're shining are—  
Surely not the best colors that you've shined.  
Surely not the best colors that you've shined._"

"_I know you feel alone, yeah, and no one else can figure you out,  
But don't you ever turn away from the ones that help you down.  
Well they'd love to save you, don't you know they love to see you smile?  
But these colors that you shine are surely not your style._"

"_But you should know these colors that you're_—"

I don't think I could even bear to listen to this song. It made my heart sink, twist into knots, as if trying to strangle itself. I flipped the station again with a despondent sigh. Some neat guitar melody filtered through the speakers, calming me somewhat. I returned my twitching hand to the steering wheel, deciding that this song, surely, wouldn't betray me.

"_Desperate for changing, starving for truth,  
I'm closer to where I started, I'm chasing after you._"

"_I'm falling even more in love with you,  
Letting go of all I've held on to.  
I'm standing here until you make me move,  
I'm hanging by a moment here with you._"

"_Forgetting all I'm lacking, completely incomplete.  
I'll take your invitation, you take all of me._"

"_I'm falling even more in love with you,  
Letting go of all—_"

"Goddammit!" I shouted, furiously turning the radio off. I was immediately encased in silence that just seemed to ring, as if taunting me. I wanted to bash my head against the steering wheel, but seeing that I was fairly attached to my car, my driver's license, and (if nothing else) my life, I decided that not distracting myself with such temptations was best. At least until the car wasn't moving.

---

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**A/N: **Since my first A/N was incredibly long, I decided to put the disclaimers down here. I do not own:

_Doctor Jones _by **Aqua**

_Not in Love _by **Enrique Iglesias (feat. Kelis)**

_I Won't Say (I'm in Love) _from the** _Hercules _Soundtrack**

_Colors _by **Crossfade**

_Hanging By a Moment _by **Lifehouse**

Review, please!


	12. Axel's Secret

**Chances in Life**

_XO'MagickMoon'OX_

**.Chapter XII. **Axel's Secret

**A/N: **Thank you, as usual, to all of my lovely reviewers! -**blows kisses**-

**AbnormallyWeirdPerson: **XD I like the idea of make-up artist!Riku, too. Maybe I'll write a story about that sometime...or maybe you should! And yes, Sora's dad did seem a little suspicious of Riku, but I guess that's just how his character is. It does make you think though, whether or not his parents suspect something. Do they? Who knows! Oh, wait... I know! Mwahaha...but no one shall find out 'til...latah. Anyway, bodybuilders are very scary. And weird-looking. I always want to know why anyone would want to look like...that. -**shudders**- Oh yes! That's why I love seme!Sora... 'cause I love seeing the stereotypical seme all vulnerable and at the mercy of the stereotypical uke. Hehehe... I sound so demented right now. Moving on. Hahah, yes there was a wet dream...but, not the one we yaoi fangirls think of. XD I almost found a place to put that wet dream scene in, though, but I think I lost it. T.T Ah well. Yup, the people in the Disney song were the Muses. Gotta love those Greek Gospel Muses. :D Greek and Gospel isn't supposed to work together, but Disney makes it happen. 'Cause they're amazing like that.

**-Zeida-and-Maria-: **Well, if the title of the chapter doesn't already tell you, here is where you find out about Axel and Roxas. :D Everyone cheer! Hahaha...hah...ahem, anyway. And again, sorry I kept forgetting to answer your question about Sora. You got the PM, right?

**RMSTitanic89: **I love your idea about Kairi and her boyfriend, but...sadly, this story is quickly drawing to a close and I don't think I'll be able to fit it in. -**laments**- It was still a great idea, though. :D I don't even know if I'll be able to fit Kairi's boyfriend-to-be it, with all the drama to come with Sora and Riku in the next few chapters. Gomen.

**RainbowSerenity: **-**munches on cookie**- Thanks for the snacks! And I'm glad my chapter made your day better. It makes my heart happy to think that my writing, even if it's not the best, helps my readers somehow. :D Hehe, that's funny about the parent questioning, thing. So I guess you could empathize with Riku, ne? Haha, I always forget my dreams, too. But, for Sora, this was just one of those dreams that stick in your memory, ya know? I think I have a few of those; some of them are from when I was in elementary school! And I still remember them somehow. And, it's okay, -**whispers**- I'm a spaz too. 8D Yay for spazzing! And, it's funny you should mention Kairi getting to watch Sora and Riku again. -**shifty eyes**- I think I just gave something away. Oh well. Enjoy the chapter!

**The Glass Slipper: **:D I give notes to my readers that are patient enough to leave long and (if nothing else) thorough reviews, something more than "Awesome, update soon!" So, I suspect you'll continue to get notes:) I'm glad you find my story believable! It means I'm doing at least something right, ne? I really like the line about Riku waking up and being disappointed at not finding Sora next to him, too! So I'm very happy that you acknowledged it. Methinks it was my favorite line in that chapter; there was just something bittersweet about it, and (as you might already suspect) I love bittersweet.

**Anon19: **"But seriously, chapter 10, Marluxia beating up Sora for being gay? XD" Hehe, you're right. ...Maybe Marly's hiding something, ne? Haha, or maybe not. But really, the Nature-controlling Org. XIII Member with the Pink Scythe of Flowery Death is most definitely gay, I agree. I just...needed an antagonist, and well, he and Sora did fight in CoM... ah, but whatever. That comment just made me laugh and nod my head. XD Moving on! And as for your suspicions with Axel, well, as the chapter title suggests, you'll find out here:D Oh the suspense!... -**crickets chirp**- Or not. And I agree: homophobes are most definitely irksome (like the freakin' President of America GAH!) And as for the OT...I haven't exactly read the Bible from cover to cover, but it does sound extremely contradictory; but then again, what isn't in this world? It does make you wonder though, what exactly Christians are supposed to believe. Well, I guess as long as we've all got the main message (like good ol' Sora) then everything's fine and dandy. Hmm, I see Wakka and Kairi paired a lot, too, but alas, as I told RMSTitanic89 I don't think I'm gonna get to fit any boyfriend for Kairi in. -**sighs**- Ah well. This is a RikuxSora fic, after all. ;)

**Kagome1514: **Yes, I hate Hip-Hop, Rap, etc, too. Ergo, Riku hates it. You're right; it just doesn't seem like music. Except for some of the rappers whom I can stand, the ones who actually rap about sensical and worthwhile things, but it's hard to find rappers like those these days, sadly. Anyway. Glad you're enjoying the story! And I'm sorry you don't know most of the songs; people not knowing the songs is what made me iffy about making this story uberly songficish, but I just decided "What the hell, I'll do it"... if you want to hear any of the songs I use, I'd be happy to e-mail them to you. :D

**Phoenix: **Glad the character development is going good! -**cheers**- Yay for character development!

**Novelist: **Ah, Tidus. I would hook Kairi up with Tidus, but alas, he has his eyes on Yuna. (Oh no! It's CANON! RUN! XD) But you find that out later. And as I've mentioned above somewhere in this tangle of words that is my A/N, I don't think I'm going to be able to fit anything with Kairi and a boyfriend in this story, as it's quickly drawing to a close. And I know it's annoying, but Riku shall remain a stubborn dumbass for another few chapters (it's even annoying to write him like that -**sweatdrops**-) Ah well, it's necesssary for the story. I don't know if there will be more to do with Sora's dream; I think I just randomly tied that in there 'cause during Riku's concert, Sora said that the name of the band reminded him of a dream he'd once had. I didn't really know what I was planning on doing with the dream, but if nothing else it serves to strengthen the RikuxSora bond, ne? In some freaky, cosmic way. -**shrugs**- The story on Sephy and Cloud shall be coming soon! ...But not soon enough, I guess. It's taking me too long to get around to it. -**sweatdrops again**-

**Setsu-chan: **Yes, everyone's saying they like Kairi in this fic. I like her, too; her character greatly reflects my own inner yaoi fangirl. XD I'm living vicariously through her. How pathetic. Oh well! I don't know if there'll be any smut coming up; I seriously doubt it, as tempting as it is to include it. -**ponders**- Hmm, we'll have to see. And it's awesome that you can relate to Riku's situation with his parents! And it's great that your situation worked out okay. But it looks like poor Riku's still paying for the consequences of his parents' actions with his twisted philosophies, ne?

Anyway, on with the chapter! _Bon appetite! _

_

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**/Sora's POV/**

I woke up the next morning achy and sore. I winced multiple times when getting ready for school, and I even limped to Aerith's car when she came to pick us up. I tried my best to hide it, though. I think Aerith and Kairi still looked worried.

I sank into my seat in homeroom. Pretty much accustomed to the pain now, it was a lot easier to conceal. Regardless, I heard someone snicker. Turning, there was Axel sitting to the right of me, leaning casually back with his arms crossed. I glared at him, which probably ended up looking more like a pout. I'd never quite mastered the art of glaring.

"Chill, Kid," he said. Glaring or not, I guess he could tell I was angry.

I ignored him, turning back around.

"Hey, Sora—"

"Leave me alone, Axel."

"Sora," he persisted, kneeling beside my desk now.

"Back off, you jerk," Kairi said from in front of me.

"Look, Sora," Axel continued, ignoring Kairi, "I'm sorry."

I turned to him, my eyes wide. "You're _sorry?_" I couldn't believe this. Had I imagined him saying that? And was he _smiling? _No, he was half-smiling, half-smirking. He was _amused_, as if this were all just a big joke.

"Yeah, I'm sorry. About what happened yesterday."

"Oh, you're so full of it, Axel," Kairi snarled. She was scary when she was angry, and it made me very relieved to not be on the receiving end of her wrath.

"Sora, listen to me," Axel was saying, still with this easy air that made me want to strangle him. "I know how you feel." His voice had lowered suddenly, almost conspiratorially, and the flirtatious fire in his eyes seemed to flicker, as if threatening to extinguish itself. "And I'm sorry." This time, he sounded somewhat…sincere. Maybe he'd been sincere when he'd said it the first two times, but it hadn't seemed like it. I guess that was just the way Axel was, always with this film of coquettishness coating his true feelings and motives that made people not take him seriously. "It's not right, what those guys did to you—"

"Then why did you just _stand _there when it was happening? Why did you _let _it go? Why didn't you _help _Sora?" Kairi demanded heatedly, her questions shooting at him in rapid-fire succession.

His eyes hardened then, the fire quavering behind a layer of crystal, as he turned his gaze on Kairi. "Because _I _don't want to be their next target," he hissed.

"What…do you mean?" I asked slowly, the pieces suddenly beginning to fall together. "Axel, are you—_mmph!_"

He clamped his hand over my mouth, his simmering glare now aimed at me. That was all the confirmation I needed.

Axel was just like me.

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I find it weird sometimes that, once you learn something new, suddenly that thing pops up everywhere. Like, when I learn a new word, all of a sudden I notice it being used in books, advertisements, movies, etcetera. Well, it was happening again. Except, this time it wasn't a new word that I'd learned, but Axel's secret.

I didn't really know Axel. I knew that he was a senior, though he was a few years older than everyone in his class due to some weird happenstance that had held him back in middle school. He was a pretty amusing guy, the class clown sort of person. He was also a pyromaniac, from what I'd heard, always carrying around a lighter (though he didn't smoke) and flicking it opened and closed when no teachers were looking. I knew that he ran in the same crowd as Marluxia, Demyx, Zexion, and Larxene, and therefore I'd never really associated much with him. But now, I was looking at him in a whole new light.

Ever since learning his secret, I started noticing things about Axel that I'd never thought possible. He shared a few classes with me, Kairi, Selphie, and this boy named Roxas. Now, I wouldn't have mentioned Roxas if he hadn't been the _thing_ I noticed about Axel. When not preoccupied with work or talking to his friends, Axel would be _staring_ at Roxas, whether consciously or not. Roxas was a boy in my grade, and everyone told me that we could pass as identical cousins, save for the difference in hair color and our slight difference in height. We were friends, I didn't know if I'd call us close friends, but friends nonetheless.

And Axel had a crush on him.

Initially, all I had to support this theory were speculations. But, come lunch time, I had all of the evidence I needed to make my theory cold, hard fact.

Maybe it was coincidence, or maybe it was one of those higher power things that people were always talking about, but I decided to head outside for lunch and sit in the courtyard. Our school's courtyard was beautiful, to say the least, thanks to our environmental club. There were tall maple trees lining the walls and bushes lining the trees. A pathway wound through the foliage, connecting the two doorways that led in and out of the courtyard. Needless to say, it was very easy for students to disappear into the courtyard and find privacy from the eagle-eyed teachers, even during the winter season when the cold weather stripped the plants of their dressings.

And who should I happen to come upon when taking an innocent stroll through said courtyard?

"Roxas…"

"Leave me alone, Axel."

"Roxas, please, just…hear me out."

This caught my interest. I slowed my pace and followed the hushed voices, peering over a bush to find none other than Axel and Roxas crouched behind a tree, sandwiched between the wide, sturdy trunk and the off-white brick wall. Roxas was leaning against the wall with Axel almost hovering over him, his hands on the blonde's shoulders. Quickly, I ducked in front of the bush, hiding myself from view. So, I was never much of an eavesdropper, but this was just too intriguing to pass up.

"Axel, stop it. You're being ridiculous." Oh yes, Roxas wasn't exactly known for his warmth. Despite our similar appearances, he and I were nearly polar opposite in demeanor. While my eyes were often compared to the summer sky, his were like the arctic waters that sloshed around the ice up north.

"_Please_," Axel pleaded again. I don't think I'd ever heard, nor thought I would hear, him sound so desperate. The playful film coating his words was completely wiped away, like grime from a stained-glass window, and now all that was showing through were the bright, clear colors—raw desperation. "Don't you _care? _At _all?_"

"It's all in your head, you don't really feel anything," Roxas tried to reason, his voice admonishing.

"The hell I don't! Who are _you_ to tell me what I feel and don't feel, Roxas?" Roxas seemed to have no answer to that. So Axel continued. "Roxas, why are you so _thickheaded!_ Dammit, I can't get _through _to you!"

"It's wrong," was the bland, matter-of-fact answer.

"What's wrong?"

"You _feeling _something like _that_. It's just…wrong."

"Shit," Axel swore under his breath, "not you, too."

"Axel, we've had this conversation before. It always ends the same. So why do you _insist _on bringing it up again?"

"Because I'm not going to give up! I… I can't give up, Roxas, don't you _get _it?"

"No, explain it to me."

"I… I…!" I could practically hear the trembling of Axel's body in his voice, as if his words were barely held together by thin, fragile threads. And then, there was a quick intake of breath from both parties, followed by a muffled protest, and I could only guess that Axel was kissing Roxas. Parting a few boughs in the bush, I saw that that was exactly what was happening.

I felt my face heat as I watched them, with Roxas on his back, laying in the lush blanket of grass, and Axel on top trying to spur some sort of reaction from the blonde. Roxas's eyes were wide, and Axel's were closed tightly, as if he was bracing himself for some chastisement that was sure to come from his brash actions.

And that was when I left, knowing that my face was probably tinged with more than a little pink. I took my sandwich and my apple, my water tucked under my arm and my backpack over my shoulder, and left as surreptitiously as I could. I don't think they noticed me.

Kairi and Selphie welcomed me back to the lunch table, asking me why I'd changed my mind and decided to eat inside. I just blushed more and stuffed my sandwich in my mouth.

I think…I would be able to forgive Axel for yesterday. Suddenly, I saw him as someone on my side, someone like me. I could understand his wanting to hang with the people he did; it was, after all, the perfect cover. He was safest there, and he knew it.

But despite how safe it was outwardly, I knew for a fact that it was killing him inside.

**/Riku's POV/**

AP Physics. That was where I was sitting Wednesday morning, listening to my teacher go on about something that I'd probably end up having Tidus explain to me later. I wasn't listening; my thoughts were wandering aimlessly through the expanse of my complicated cogitations. This morning, they'd taken a turn into a room that was showing a slideshow of yesterday afternoon. Somewhere in the background the soundtrack was playing.

"_If you _ever_ touch him again, I _will_ make you regret it."_

"_Fucking queer."_

"_Bastard."_

I scribbled into my notebook, harsh, embossed lines of shimmering gray graphite. I etched stick figures of those assholes from yesterday into the margin of my paper, then drew a stick figure of myself stabbing them with a katana. A knife wouldn't be long enough; I wanted to spear them all at once, like a homophobe shish kabob.

"_I-I'm so-sorry for…being such a h-hassle…" _

"_Are you insane!"_

Oh, Sora. My expression softened, my pencil strokes becoming lighter. I forewent my angry sketches and instead began doodling beneath them, drawing a little picture of Sora. I think the only thing that would be able to distinguish him as my boyfriend and not just a poorly drawn cartoon was the spiky hair and wide grin. I wasn't much of an artist; music was my forte.

"_What happened? Why were they…all over you like that?"_

"_J-Just a…bunch of h-homophobes."_

"_Homophobes?"_

"_Y-Yeah…they, uh, saw us together yesterday and…well…"_

"_I…I'm sorry, Sora… I'm so sorry… It's all my fault… I should have been more careful. I should have…" _

"_It's okay, Riku. It's…not your fault… I've always had to deal with people like them."_

"_But…you shouldn't have to… Things shouldn't be like that… Just because—"_

"_I know. I don't understand it, either. But that's the way the world is, right?"_

"_But it shouldn't be! You didn't do anything wrong. You didn't… Why… I just…" _

"_I know."_

I shook my head, turning the page of my notebook and starting to write. Of course I wasn't taking the notes I should have dutifully been, like the other students, but I was writing a song that had been stewing in my mind for a little while now. _The World _was the song I'd written after Leon's being harassed, but it wasn't enough. It didn't communicate the message I was so desperately trying to capture with my music. It wasn't angry enough.

_Do really fucking think that it's a choice, a way of life plagued by discrimination?  
You're narrow-minded and quick to judge with Bible belt tunnel-vision._

_This is ignorance.  
Failure to evolve is failure to us all.  
When will you learn that this is where we fall?  
Failure to evolve is failure to us all.  
When will you learn that this is where we fall?_

"_Is this my fate?" he asked them.  
They answered, condemning him to burn.  
Rejected, forsaken, for being fucking born.  
I can't believe that this is still a question that needs an answer.  
A bigot's eyes, judging lives, based on the sex of who you fuck._

_This is ignorance.  
Failure to evolve is failure to us all.  
When will you learn that this is where we fall?  
Failure to evolve is failure to us all.  
When will you learn that this is where we fall?_

_Burn, burn, judged and condemned to  
Burn, burn, judged and condemned to  
BURN._

I let out a breath of relief, setting my pencil down. It _clicked _hollowly against my desk.

Wow. I don't ever remember using the word "fuck" so much in my writing since…ever. But, I found that once my hand had started moving, it couldn't stop. The words just kept flowing. And now I was satisfied, even feeling a little better about the whole ordeal yesterday. Sure, I was still angry, but much of that anger was now on paper, burning holes through my notebook. At least it wasn't burning holes through my thoughts anymore.

I decided that I would now be able to focus on the lesson, only to find that class was over. I began to pack up my stuff, standing and slinging my bag over my shoulder. I saw Tidus standing behind me with his hip cocked and a fist perched on it. He was shaking his head at me, but smiling nonetheless. From the sheepish grin on my face, I think he knew, too, that he was going to have to spend the evening filling me in on what I'd missed.

I checked the time on my cell phone: 11:40. My classes were done for the day (my reward for cramming as many as I could into my schedule during my first three years), so I turned to Tidus as we were leaving Physics and asked, "Hey, wanna get some lunch?"

He seemed to think it over for a minute before nodding. "Sure."

I wrapped a friendly arm around his shoulder and grinned. "And, while we're at it, you can tell me what happened in class!"

He smirked, and I had a feeling it was going to be costing me for this lesson. He'd probably want me to pay for his lunch or something. "All right."

We signed out in the office and headed to the parking lot. We hopped into my car and within five minutes, we were out of the school vicinity. "Where to?" I asked him, glancing down the street.

He pointed. "There."

I veered to the right and pulled into an empty parking spot, cutting the engine and stepping out. As we stood in line to get our food, I pulled out my money and a little extra for Tidus. But, surprisingly, he paid for his own meal. Which meant he wanted something else. Damn.

We sat down in the booth and as I opened my straw, I demanded, "All right, Tidus, what do you want?"

He put on some innocent face and replied, "What do you mean?"

I shook my head. All right, if he wanted to play dumb, I'd let him. I'd be finding out eventually.

"Riku," he said after swallowing a bite of his burger, "what do you think of Yuna?"

"Yuna?" I thought back. That name sounded familiar. Oh right. "She's nice. I…uh, dated her in eighth grade." I offered him a smile, but I think he could tell what that smile was meant to hide.

"You slept with her, didn't you." It wasn't a question. I winced at the anger that flickered through his eyes.

"Sorry, man. How was I supposed to know that my friend would be going after her five years later? …You _are _going after her, right?"

"Riku! Come on! I've had a crush on her since middle school!"

Oops. I took a fry and crushed it into my mouth to keep anything stupid from coming out. These were the times when my body tended to betray me.

Tidus sighed and shook his head. "Whatever, dude. Just…you know her, right? Like, you associate with her?"

I nodded, sipping my drink to wash down the French fry. Note to self: never stuff a ketchup-less fry into mouth again, no matter the circumstances. It was just too dry. "Yeah."

"Could you…maybe talk to her for me?"

"What is this, Tidus? Freshman year all over again? Why don't _you _talk to her? Anything you say to her will probably mean ten times more than anything I could say to her."

He looked down at his quarter-eaten meal. "Yeah, you're right."

I nodded. "Good. And, Tidus? I'm…uh, sorry for…well, you know."

"Yeah, I know. It wasn't your fault. Actually, it was, but that's not the point. I don't think there's a girl in our school who hasn't been deflowered by you already. Or guy, for that matter."

I couldn't help but smirk around my straw.

He finished up his food and pulled his backpack to the table. "All right. Physics."

I pushed my garbage aside and leaned forward.

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**A/N: **First off, I do not own those awesome lyrics. They are from _"Is This My Fate?" He Asked Them _by **Story of the Year**. Awesome band; so intense. :D So, I'm a little iffy on how the whole thing with Axel and Roxas went. Any comments? Critiques would be greatly appreciated. Needless to say, review, please!

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	13. Exhibitionism

**Chances in Life **

_XO'MagickMoon'OX_

**.Chapter XIII. **Exhibitionism

**A/N: **Okay, these A/N's were getting too long, so I sent out PM's instead. :D So, anyway, as the title of the chapter suggests, exhibitionism ahead! I am officially living vicariously through Kairi. XD

I do not own the song _Lying is the Most Fun a Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off _by **Panic! at the Disco. **Now that is one kick-ass band.

Enjoy! -**raises curtain**-

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**/Riku's POV/**

"Oh, all right. I get it." I nodded and scrawled the notes across my page, glancing briefly at my doodles from earlier. I inwardly grinned. If I only I could find a katana…

"So, how's that thing with Sora going?" Tidus asked as I began to pack up my books. "I bet he's a nice fuck toy."

I cringed at the term, despite the fact that I tended to use it on a regular basis. But I hadn't lately. "I…haven't slept with him yet," I admitted, taking another sip of my unfinished soda.

Tidus's eyes widened. "What's this? _The _Riku Ishiguro has been actually dating someone for over a week _without _getting into their pants? The _same _Riku Ishiguro who's known infamously—or famously, depending—as the God of Sex and Seduction, the Desecrater of Young Hearts? I really think the world's coming to and end. Is the sky falling?" Just to be a jackass, he leaned towards the window and peered up at the clouds.

"Can it, Masakazu," I growled.

"Oh, struck a chord, have I?" Tidus sat back in his seat, grinning evilly at me. "What's wrong? Is he just a tough nut to crack, or are you biding your time for some reason? Though, I find that hard to believe. Your sex drive is that of a dog in heat. So, fess up."

I scowled down at the tabletop, drawing circles in a pool of spilt salt. "I don't know. Don't ask me."

"Don't ask you? Then who am I supposed to ask? Maybe I should ask Sora—"

"Tidus!" My adrenaline raced at the thought of Sora finding out…well, something that Tidus would surely jump on the chance to divulge. Something like what I'd really had in mind when I'd agreed to be his boyfriend. Something like what I _still _had in mind. "I just… I don't know," I repeated, running my hands through my hair.

"All right. So, maybe a better question is, _when _are you planning on sleeping with him? Your record, so far, for holding on to a relationship is two months. Most of your relationships end when you sleep with the person and then break up with them the morning after. With those rare long-lasting cases, you'd been sleeping with them since the first week, and decided that they were good enough in bed to hold on to for a little while longer."

I knew. I knew all of that. Those relationships, the ones that lasted more than a few weeks, I always ended when I got tired of the person and wanted a new fu—partner. But Sora's case…was different. We'd been together for over a week already, and I'd met him two weeks ago from the day. But I hadn't slept with him yet. Hell, I hadn't even gotten his shirt off yet, let alone his pants. What was wrong with me? Why was this taking so long? Why hadn't I corrupted that innocent cherub of a boy already?

Everything was all topsy-turvy. And I hated it. I felt a migraine coming on.

"Riku?" Tidus waved his hand in front of my face. "Earth to Riku!"

I shook my head. "Forget it, Tidus." I stood to leave, telling him to come on.

He remained seated, his arms defiantly crossed. "Hey," he said, looking serious for the first time since the beginning of our conversation about Sora, "you owe me for helping you with Physics."

"And what do I owe you?" I demanded hotly.

"The truth," he said simply, with a careless shrug.

And that was when I felt something inside of me explode. "You want the _truth_, Tidus? Well, here's the truth: I don't fucking know! I don't _fucking _know _anything _anymore! Ever since I met Sora, I've lost sight of everything I used to be sure about. And it's driving me _insane!_"

He sighed and slid out of the booth, standing in front of me. "Riku, I think that you _do _know the truth, you're just forcing it away from you, because you don't want to believe it."

"What truth?" I hated the way my voice sounded so desperate.

He smirked halfheartedly. "Dude, you have to figure it out on your own. Because, if you don't see it, then you don't deserve Sora."

I just stared after him as he headed outside, slipping his garbage into the trash on his way. Somewhere in the back of my mind I noted that people were staring, but I didn't care. With a heavy sigh, I followed Tidus. The uncannily bright December sunlight did nothing to help my migraine.

**/Sora's POV/**

History class was my last period. When the bell rang, I hung behind until everyone had left and then accosted my teacher.

"Cloud." He stopped in the middle of putting some papers away and looked at me. I continued, "What happened between you and Riku's brother?" I asked point-blank.

His eyes narrowed, just slightly, and he returned to his task. "Nothing," he replied tersely.

"Liar," I prompted.

"Nothing happened, Sora. Don't worry about it."

Oh, this was what I hated about Cloud: his unwavering resolve. I wasn't going to get anything out of him this way. I sighed and started towards the door. Pushing it opened, I turned to him and said, "Fine. I'll just ask Aerith then."

Over my shoulder, I saw him freeze, his eyes widening. I hurried out the door as he clumsily darted towards it, throwing it open and calling down the hallway, "SORA! DON'T—"

I just laughed and ran until I was a safe distance away from my teacher. Slowing, I tucked my hands behind my head, making sure not to accidentally elbow anyone in the fairly empty corridor. Suddenly, a blonde blur dashed passed me, nearly knocking me over in the process.

"Whoa! Watch it—" I started to warn them, but stopped as I followed the person with my eyes and realized that it was Roxas who'd practically bowled me over. Okay, I could maybe forgive him. Shrugging, I continued on my way.

Nearing the exit I usually took, I saw someone standing there. The unmistakable red hair and green eyes made for instant recognition. "Hey Axel," I said warily. He was standing with his arms pretty much crossed, flipping the top of his silver lighter in one hand. "What're you doing?" I asked him when I didn't receive any response save for a flicker of a glance.

"Waiting for Roxas," he said curtly.

I glanced down the way I'd come and said, "But…I just saw him… He was heading towards the art rooms." Axel seemed to deflate then, sinking down against the wall with a heavy sigh. "Hey," I said, kneeling down next to him, "are you all right?"

"Just peachy," he growled. He lifted his head, solidly turning his gaze on mine for the first time in the last three minutes. Again, his mask was gone, and raw emotion was shining through. I swear there was no end to the depth of his eyes. "So, what do you want?" he asked.

I jumped a little at the sudden inquiry, but said, "Uh… Just…to make sure you're okay."

"Why do you care?"

"Axel… I know you have a crush on Roxas," I said with a small grin. As soon as those words had left my mouth, his eyes were doing an impression of those of a skittish deer, wide and frightened.

He shook the expression away, saying, "I don't know what you're talking about." _Flick_ went his lighter. It seemed to be a nervous habit.

"I saw you—"

"SORA!"

I cringed at Kairi's incredibly loud voice. She appeared in the doorway suddenly, looking down at me and Axel with something akin to surprise. Immediately though, a smile broke across her face. "_There _you are," she said. Turning around, she called, "He's over here, Riku!"

Hurriedly, I whispered to Axel, "I saw you two in the courtyard today."

Axel jumped, nearly shouting, "What the fuck!" His tone lowered upon receiving Kairi's frightened stare, and he said to me, "You were _spying _on us?"

"I didn't mean to," I told him, "but I was walking through the courtyard during lunch, and I heard your voices and well…"

I don't think Axel was really acquainted with The Blush, but if he was, I was sure it would have been staining his face right then. He had the classic blushing expression, except without the redness. "Voyeur," he accused me.

"Who's a voyeur?" Kairi chirped.

"Sora?" Riku appeared suddenly beside Kairi. "What are you—" He stopped upon noticing Axel, and I swear lightening flashed in his eyes. In a heartbeat, he had Axel captive by the collar of his uniform jacket and was pinning him to the doorframe. Axel's lighter slipped from his fingers and clattered to the floor.

"Riku! Don't!" I tried to tell him, but he ignored me. As he pulled his fist back, surely to launch across Axel's jaw, I grabbed his arm and held it back. "Riku!" I said again.

That seemed to do it. He glanced over his shoulder at me with an inquisitive glance, and asked, "What?"

I tried in vain to suppress my laughter at the situation. For some reason, it just struck me as terribly amusing. Maybe it was Axel's petrified expression or Riku's confusion, but it was all just really _funny_. "D-Don't…hurt him…" I said.

Kairi was looking at me oddly now, too, but I think she had a better grasp on what was going on in my head than anyone else. Slowly, and apparently grudgingly, Riku let Axel down, and the redhead fought to breathe correctly again, messing with his collar to try to restore the proper airflow through his throat. "What the hell was that for?" He glared at Riku.

"You're… You… I…" Riku seemed lost for words. He turned to me beseechingly, silently asking me to explain. He looked so cute, all confused and flustered. I saw his hand twitch, and knew he was dying to beat Axel to a pulp. I wouldn't let that happen to my new ally, however.

"Come on," I said, taking Riku by the arm and dragging him out the door. The way I had to practically uproot his feet only served to confirm my suspicions on his bloodlust for Axel. "Leave Axel alone," I admonished, laughing a little.

"B-But Sora!"

"I'll explain later." I continued to pull him to the parking lot, but by now there was less pulling and more just…walking. Kairi was skipping along behind us, humming blithely. "Riku, you have to work today, right?" I asked him.

"Hm? Oh, yeah." He nodded. "That's where I was planning on going. You guys wanna come or do you want me to drop you off at your house?"

"We'll come," I told him, smiling brightly. Maybe I'd imagined it, but I thought I saw something dark slip through Riku's eyes as he cast me a sidelong look. I ignored it.

"Okay. Hey, what about your jobs? Didn't you have to work yesterday?"

"Oh, I covered for Sora," Kairi inputted.

"Ah, I see." We reached Riku's car and piled in.

"So, Riku, I'd bet you'd love to kiss Sora right about now," Kairi hinted not-so-subtly from the back seat.

I felt my face heat. "Kair—_mmph!_"

Riku was kissing me. I pulled back hastily, squeaking, "Riku! What are you…"

He shrugged, grinning. "It's only Kairi. I think she deserves a little show, ya know, after all she's done for us. Always helping us, not to mention hooking us up in the first place."

"YES!" Kairi cheered. "RIKU! I LOVE YOU!"

"So how 'bout it?" He grinned predatorily at me, and I couldn't help the excited sparks that ignited my veins. I grinned back at him, conceding.

Wasting no time, I crawled in to his lap, cradling his face in my hands and capturing his lips with my own. After that, it was easy to forget about Kairi. Although, there was this little nagging in the back of my mind, a perpetual reminder that there was someone watching me and Riku. And, somehow, that just made it all the more thrilling.

As he pried my lips apart with his tongue, Riku reached around me and pushed something, which I supposed was the radio switch because suddenly there was music sieving through the speakers.

"_Is it still me that makes you sweat? Am I who you think about it bed?  
When the lights are dim and your hands are shaking as you're sliding off your dress.—_

I gasped as Riku returned his hands to me, my hips, more specifically. My hands were twining the hair at the back of his head, spooling it around my fingers. I pressed closer to him, if at all possible, my head dizzy from the sensations (and probably lack of air). The sensuous voice painting the suddenly oppressive and charged atmosphere in the car did little to calm me down. And I don't think it was meant to.

—_Then you think of what you did, and how I hope to God he was worth it,  
When the lights are dimmed and your heart is racing as your fingers touch you skin_."

"_I've got more wit, a better kiss,_—

Riku nipped at my lips, drawing my tongue into his mouth and biting it. I moaned. It hurt so good.

— _a hotter touch, a better fuck,  
Than any boy you'll ever meet, sweetie you had me.  
Girl I was it, look past the sweat, a better love deserving of  
Exchanging body heat in the passenger seat, no, no, no._ _  
You know. It will. Always. Just be. Me._"

"_Let's get these teen hearts beating faster, faster!—_

Just as my lungs began to scream for oxygen, Riku pulled away and focused on my throat. His hands traveled from their distracting position on my hips to my jacket collar, beginning to undo the buttons one by one. My heart was racing, my breathing so shallow I don't think even twenty breaths could compensate for a single normal one. I could feel that my face was pink, and my eyes were half-lidded, but I didn't care.

—_So testosterone boys and harlequin girls, will you dance to this beat and hold a lover close?  
So testosterone boys and harlequin girls, will you dance to this beat and hold a lover close?_"

"_So I guess we're back to us, oh cameraman, swing the focus.  
In case I lost my train of thought, where was it that we last left off?  
(Let's pick up, pick up)_" —

Riku's teeth began to play with the skin of my neck, and it felt ticklish, painful, and _so good _all at the same time. "Ri…ku…" I whimpered as my jacket was slid off my shoulders and landed across his knees.

"You wear too many clothes," he murmured against my throat. I just shut my eyes and wrapped my hands around his neck. I didn't really know what was happening, and I didn't have a very good handle on it. It scared me, but I knew that he wouldn't go too far because Kairi was in the car. Her presence served as both a breeding ground for embarrassment and a safety net. I also knew that Riku would stop if I asked him to.

He would, wouldn't he?

—"_Oh now I do recall, we were just getting to the part where the shock sets in_ _  
And the stomach acid finds a new way to make you get sick._—

Oh, but none of that mattered right now because Riku was doing some very interesting things with his mouth and my neck that only made the arousal course more forcefully through my body. I'd never felt anything like this. It was hot and bright, a searing streak of electricity that crackled almost audibly through the air. It singed my skin, but didn't leave a scar. It burned me, but it didn't hurt. It just felt _good_. Some word that started with a _p _and ended with _–assion _glimmered ephemerally through my mind, and I couldn't grasp it in time to put it together.

—_I hope you didn't expect to get all of the attention, let's not get selfish,  
Did you really think I'd let you kill this chorus?_"—

Riku's lips returned to mine, his breath regained, and he began to kiss me again, slipping his tongue into my mouth without a moment's hesitation. He tasted sweet, as always, sweet and bitter at the same time, some dangerous combination that infected my senses and made me crave more. It was an addiction. And I loved it.

I think, I loved—

"AH!" I yelped when his hands slipped into my pants and grabbed my ass over my boxer shorts. My face was on fire. "R-Riku…" I whimpered. His hands were so strong, soft and calloused at the same time. The hands of a musician. Tender and rough, just like him.

A walking contradiction.

—"_Let's get these teen hearts beating faster, faster!  
So testosterone boys and harlequin girls, will you dance to this beat and hold a lover close?  
So testosterone boys and harlequin girls, will you dance to this beat and hold a lover close?_"

"_Dance to this beat,  
Dance to this beat_ —

He pulled away again and began to nuzzle my ear, sending tendrils of fire down my body. Everything he did seemed to have that effect on me. I squirmed a little as his hands tightened deliciously around my ass. My pants felt kind of tight, and I briefly wondered why, but all thought was basically extinguished as his hands left their post and began skating over my thighs. Even through the fabric of my uniform pants, his touch was gloriously numbing.

—_Dance to this beat._"

"_Let's get these teen hearts beating faster, faster.  
Let's get these teen hearts beating faster…_"

"_I've got more wit, a better kiss, a hotter touch_—

"Sora," he whispered in my ear. My name sounded like something holy when he said it, and at the same time, like something sinful. It made me shiver.

—_a better fuck,  
Than any boy you'll ever meet, sweetie you had me.  
Girl I was it, look past the sweat, a better love deserving of_—

His hands were still caressing my thighs, up and down and back up again, inching higher and higher each time. He nipped and sucked on my earlobe, running his tongue around the outside. I think I moaned his name again, but I couldn't be sure; there was this ringing in my ears that wouldn't shut up, and the music sounded louder than I knew it was. I wished I could have done something to make him feel the way I was feeling, but my motor functions had shut down about a half-minute ago. So I just let him do as he pleased.

—_Exchanging body heat in the passenger seat, no, no, no._ _  
You know. It will. Always. Just be. Me._"

"_Let's get these teen hearts beating faster, faster!  
So testosterone boys and harlequin girls, will you dance to this beat and hold a lover close?  
So testosterone boys and harlequin girls, will you dance to this beat and hold a lover close?_"

"_So testosterone boys and harlequin girls_ —

His hand—his damn tortuous hand—moved to my hip, sliding deviously sideways, closer to my groin. I was trembling, with either fear or anticipation, I couldn't tell. Maybe both.

—_(Dance to this beat)  
So testosterone boys and harlequin girls,  
(Dance to this beat)_—

"RIKU!" I gasped as, finally, his hand pressed between my legs, his mouth reclaiming my own in an attempt to stifle me. The kiss was wet and hot and I loved his lips. And I loved his hands. And I loved—

"Sora," he whispered, running his tongue sensuously across the seam of my mouth.

"Mhmm?" was the only response I could garner from my malfunctioning mind.

—_And hold a lover close._"

And then I pulled back for a split second, looking him in the eyes, and something in my throat snagged my breath. There was something about his eyes…something conflicted, something torn and broken and battered, and I didn't know what it was.

"_Let's get these teen hearts beating faster, faster.  
Let's get these teen hearts beating faster…_"

And it scared me.

The song ended and I sat back, resting on his knees.

I heard something in the background, something that registered with me as clapping. I looked over Riku's shoulder and a little to the left to see Kairi sitting there, her face a bit pink and a wide grin spread across her lips. The sight brought me crash-landing back to Earth. I offered her a sheepish smile and climbed out of Riku's lap, returning to my seat.

Riku, catching his breath, looked at Kairi through the rearview mirror and asked, "So how was _that?_"

Kairi giggled. "Better than any tape!" As Riku pulled out his keys and started up the car, she added, "Wait 'til I tell Selphie!"

Riku shook his head. "We'll be charging admission next time."

I nodded in agreement before his words actually registered with me. "Wait, what 'next time'!"

Riku just smiled and pulled out of his parking spot, driving out of the school vicinity and towards the mall.

---

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**A/N: **Now, by a show of hand, who's jealous of Kairi?

...By another show of hands, who's jealous of Sora? XD

Rewiew, please!

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	14. Ghosts of the Past

**Chances in Life**

_XO'MagickMoon'OX_

**.Chapter XIV. **Ghosts of the Past

**A/N: **Okay, now that the fun exhibitionism is over, back to the serious stuff. And yes, Riku will sadly continue to be frustrating for a little while longer...but don't be too hard on him, yeah? He's just a confused bishie! -**hugs Riku, protecting him from rotten vegetables**-

Aaaaanyway, all right, on with the chapter!

* * *

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**/Riku's POV/**

Ohhh boy. Okay. Now _that _had been intense. Of course, I wasn't an exhibitionist, but…well, it was just Kairi, and I personally know how those yaoi fangirls are. It was a favor to her (nothing else, really…I think). But, an irritating ache had settled itself around my pelvis, and I really wanted to get rid of it. Glancing at Sora, however, I couldn't bring myself to do it. I could have planned to take him to the mall and have my way with him in the back room in Hot Topic; I'd done it before. My coworkers, especially Leon, were never happy about it, but that never stopped me. And yet, with Sora,…I just couldn't do it.

This was getting frustrating.

My hands unconsciously tightened around the steering wheel as I drove into the parking lot, these blasphemous thoughts dancing around my head. I pulled into the first spot I could find, killing the engine and stepping out of the car. Sora and Kairi followed suit. As they walked a little ahead, I hated the way my eyes tethered themselves to Sora's ass. Agh, if only his underwear hadn't been in the way, I would've been touching his skin. I wondered if his skin was as soft _there _as it was everywhere else. Would I ever get to find out?

Dammit, of course I would. Why was I doubting myself? As Tidus had said, I was _the _Riku Ishiguro, the God of Sex and Seduction. I wouldn't fail, especially not with Sora. I couldn't fail with Sora. I…I wanted to… I wanted _him_. Jesus, I don't remember the last time I'd wanted someone so badly. I don't think…I'd _ever _wanted someone so badly. Why did I want him so badly? Why? What made him different from the thousands of other people I'd ever wanted? Want, desire, craving, it all translated to lust. Lust didn't differentiate, it didn't decide that it preferred one person over all the rest.

So what the hell was wrong with me?

"Riku."

I jumped, jarred from my thoughts, and saw Sora and Kairi watching me.

"What's wrong, Riku?" Sora asked. He looked so concerned, it made my chest…hurt. He fell in step beside me and laced his fingers through mine. "Hey," he murmured, "Riku?"

"It's nothing," I told him, smiling softly. Smiles just seemed to come naturally when I was around him.

"If you say so…" He shrugged and tightened his grip on my hand, swinging our arms casually back and forth. He was so cute.

---

"Man, what took you so long!" Tidus griped as we walked through the entrance to Hot Topic. He was leaning backwards over the counter and regarding us pleadingly—upside-down. What an idiot. "Riku! My love! Take the register!" He reached dramatically out to me, and a few of the customers gave him weird looks. "I need _foooood!_"

Oh, so that was what the theatrics were about.

Kairi giggled and propped an elbow on the counter beside Tidus as he straightened, combing his wayward hair back into place with his fingers. "I'm sorry," she told him. "It's my fault Riku's late. I made him and Sora give me a show in the car."

"Whoa! Riku! Exhibitionist, are we?"

I scowled and promptly smacked him upside the head. "Keep it down, loudmouth. It was just a favor."

"To Kairi or yourself?"

"Just…go get your food, dumbass," I growled at him, swinging a leg over the counter and taking my post. "And bring me a milkshake."

"What's the magic word?" Tidus said sweetly, now across from me. Which meant that he could run if I tried to smack him again. Dammit.

"_Pleeeeaase_," I humored him, folding my hands beseechingly like a poor suppliant.

"Okay. Since you asked so nicely." And with that, he left, disappearing into the labyrinth of the mall.

"Riku," Kairi said, "me 'n Sora are gonna go shop around for a little."

"We are?" Sora eyed Kairi curiously.

"Yup." She smiled at me and gripped his arm, tugging him away. "We'll be back soon! Call Sora on his cell phone if you go on your break before we're back."

I gave her a two-fingered salute, leaning back against the counter, and nodded. "All right."

As they left the store, I mentally slapped myself when I found my eyes on Sora's ass again.

---

Another slow day. Whoo. I could just feel the excitement bubbling to the roof. Look! It was spilling out the doorway! It was drowning that Old Guy and Ms. Prada who was going to trip over her heels going down the stairs. Hah. The elevator was broken.

_Wow_. If people could hear my thoughts right now, they'd probably wonder what I was smoking. But really, I was just suppressing other thoughts that I'd rather not think. Oh, wonderful. I'd just opened the floodgate by mentioning them, and here they came.

These thoughts always started with an image. Blue eyes, tousled chestnut hair, a heart-shaped face. And then they branched off.

_His lips are delicious _(I like to see him smile).

_His skin would look sexy covered in sweat _(it's so soft, like silk).

_He's got a really hot body _(I want to hold him).

_His voice is gorgeous when he moans _(his laughs are adorable).

_I want to fuck him senseless _(I want to worship his body).

"GAH!" I fell to my knees and hit my head against the flat edge of the counter. Repeatedly.

"That can't be healthy."

I jumped and sprang to my feet to see Leon peering down at me. "H-Hi!" I squeaked. What the fuck? I never squeaked. Sora squeaked. I _didn't _squeak.

Leon tilted his head almost imperceptibly. "What are you doing?"

Groaning, I propped my elbows on the counter and dropped my head into my hands. "Going insane."

"I see that."

"Then why did you ask?"

"I was wondering if you could see that."

"No, Leon, fill me in, why don't you?" I quipped. Picking my head up, I halfheartedly glowered at him through my bangs.

He sighed heavily and folded his arms across his chest. "Okay, so what's wrong?"

"I don't know what's wrong! _That's _what's wrong!"

"Read: it's Sora."

"Grrr…"

Leon blinked. "…Did you just growl at me?"

"Yes! Yes, I just growled at you." Tidus did, after all, say that I had the sex drive of a dog in heat, why not play the part?

"You're pathetic, you know that?"

I shook my head. I needed to change the subject. "So, Leon, how's that thing with Cloud going?"

He started, arms falling out of his default stance. "What thing?"

"The thing that you have yet to start."

"What are you talking about?"

"Leon, you're after him."

"And you know that…how?"

"Three things." I brandished said number of fingers while talking. "One: your encounter last Friday night was just teeming with a complicated history and sexual frustration. Two: you have a picture of him in your office—"

"I have pictures of all of my old friends."

I sighed. "You have _five _pictures of him—yes, I found the ones hidden in your desk. And three: you fell asleep in the back room the other day and I walked in on you moaning his name."

Whoa, I had _never _seen Leon blush a pink like that. …Wait, I had never seen him blush _period! _Oh, where was my camera when I needed it? Hah! I had a camera-phone! I quickly pulled it out and _click_. Yay for blackmail material!

"Stop that," Leon snapped. "I do not like Cloud."

"The evidence is against you, Leonhart."

"Okay, fine! I l…like him."

"Hm, stammering the word 'like'? What could this mean?"

"It doesn't mean anything!"

I draped myself idly over the counter and tapped my chin as if deep in thought. "I think it means that this is more than just a little thing; you want to fuck him. Over and over and over and ov—"

"The hell! Ishiguro, you're five seconds away from getting fired."

"You wouldn't fire me; Seph would kill you." I brushed aside his threat and continued. "Or maybe _you _want to get fucked. Though, you do seem like more of a top than a bottom. Maybe it's your brooding, death-to-the-world attitude. Then again, Blondie seems to parallel your demeanor. I guess you guys would be a versatile couple."

"Riku, cut it out!"

"And he's older than you, right? Maybe you _would_ be on bottom. He has the maturity factor."

"What maturity factor?"

"Your characters are just…polar opposite. He's the respectable school teacher, a year or two your senior, while you're the high school graduate guitarist who manages a Gothic clothing shop in the mall." I nodded astutely. "Yup, you'd definitely be on bottom."

Leon looked ready to kill. "Riku, shut up."

"So, how long?"

"How long what?"

"How long have you had your eye on him?"

He averted his gaze. "Too long."

I reached across the counter and prodded his arm. "_How _long? Days, weeks, months…?"

"Years."

"Ohhh I see. How many years?"

He mumbled something incomprehensible.

"What was that? I couldn't understand you."

"I said…" he sighed, "ten years."

Whoa. I blinked, unsure of what to say. Suddenly, it didn't seem all that amusing anymore. "…That's…a long time."

"Yeah."

"Since high school?"

"Freshman year."

I bit my lip and then said, "So…you have a _really _big thing for him."

"You have no idea." He turned around and leaned the small of his back against the counter, his arms folded again. I regarded the back of his head with blank eyes.

"So what happened?" I asked. "Why didn't you do something about it?"

"He had a girlfriend."

"Oh, right…uh, what's-her-name…Aerith?"

He glanced at me over his shoulder. "You know her?"

"Yeah, she's friends with Sora and Kairi. I think both her and Cloud are. They must be friends of the family or something." I shrugged. "So, how long were Cloud and Aerith together?"

"They were one grade above me and Sephiroth. I met Cloud in Geometry class in ninth grade, and somewhere along the way, I started…well, crushing on him, I guess is what you'd call it. For as long as I'd known him, he and Aerith had been together. I think they started dating in their freshman year." I watched his shoulders rise and fall, and I hated the way he was pretending that this was all no big deal. "They were together up until graduation. Everyone was convinced that they were going to leave high school, go to college together, and get married. After his graduation, that was the last I saw of Cloud."

"So basically, you never even got a chance."

"Nope."

I scratched my head uncertainly. "That sucks."

"Yup." There was a pause, until he spoke again. "I never thought I would see him again. He left for college to be a teacher, with Aerith, as everyone expected. But…I had no idea he was still living in this town. He must have moved back after college." He chuckled dryly. "Did you hear when I screwed up that one part in _The World _during our performance Friday?"

I laughed. "Now that you mention it…"

"That was when I noticed him standing in the audience."

I couldn't help but laugh at that. I could hear the smile in Leon's voice (though I doubted it was showing on his face), so I knew it was okay to laugh. We were silent for a little while longer, until a thought struck me. "He and Aerith must have broken up sometime during college," I pointed out, "because they're certainly not married, and they're not together anymore."

"Yeah, well…" Leon waved a hand idly, as if waving away the idea he knew was formulating in my head. Psh, like I'd let him just let it go.

"So what are you waiting for?" I asked him. "Why don't you go after him?"

"Because he's as straight as a ruler."

"Do you know that for sure?" He didn't answer, and I smirked. "There's no way you'll know if you never try."

"He'll get mad at me."

"What if he feels the same way you do?"

"He doesn't."

"Do you know that for sure?" I asked again. "Have you ever even confronted him?"

"Of course not."

"Then how do you _know?_"

"I…don't."

"Exactly."

Leon turned to face me then, leaning his elbows on the counter. He was glaring at me. I think he was singeing the tips of my hair with his eyes, but it didn't matter.

I'd managed to keep my thoughts off of Sora for at least four minutes.

**/Sora's POV/**

"You guys were _sooo _hot!"

"Kairi," I groaned, "let it go."

"But you _were!_"

I shook my head, muttering, "It was all Riku."

"What are you talking about?" she asked as we passed the food court. The smells made my stomach growl. "He couldn't have done it by himself. You were hot, too!"

"Kairi, the word 'hot' doesn't describe me, nor does any adjective synonymous to the aforementioned." I folded my arms, adding resolutely, "As it should be."

"So_ra!_" Kairi exhaled exasperatedly. "You just don't get it, do you? Riku wouldn't have shown an interest in you in the first place if you weren't at all attractive. And you are! You are _so _attractive; there are tons of girls in our school who would kill to go out with you. And probably some guys, too, but, well, you know how that is." As she was wont to do, she began gesticulating, and nearly whacked a passerby in the head. He glared at her, and she ignored it. "Sora Tsukada, you are hot, sexy, adorable, gorgeous—"

"Kairi!" I interrupted her rant. People were starting to stare. "Cut it out. You're just saying all that."

"No, I _mean _it! Gah!" She grabbed my arm suddenly and dragged me into the nearest store, which was an Abercrombie & Fitch. She pulled me to the cash register and leaned an elbow on the counter, smiling amiably at the girl who was busy ringing up some shirt and packing it into a bag. "Excuse me," she said sweetly.

"Kairi," I murmured, feeling my face heat. She ignored me.

"How can I help you?" the girl asked, smiling also.

"I need your opinion." She gestured to me. "If given the chance, would you date this boy?"

Agh! I averted my eyes, blushing madly. This reminded me of two weeks ago when she'd dragged me to the mall in search of a boyfriend. The cashier regarded me for a moment with a thoughtful look before her grin broke anew across her face and she chirped, "Definitely! He's a cutie." She leaned on the counter and propped her chin in her hand. "Are you single?" she asked me.

"Unfortunately, no," Kairi answered for me.

"Oh." The girl looked disappointed. Turning to Kairi, she queried, "So, are you his girlfriend?"

Kairi shook her head. "Nope. Sadly, my friend here has been taken by the hottie who works over at Hot Topic."

The girl tapped her small chin contemplatively. Finally, she asked, "Who's that? I only know of two girls who work over there. One's married and the other's a lesbian."

"His name's Riku," Kairi said, turning around now so that she was leaning over the counter, too. It seemed they'd shifted into Girl Talk mode.

"Oh! Riku…I know him," the girl said. "Wow, aren't you a lucky one?" She giggled at me, twirling a dark lock of hair around her finger. "I can see why he went after you, though. Anyone who lets a catch like you get away is just plain crazy."

My blush was receding, and I was learning to accept this girl's compliments without turning red at every word. It felt sorta…nice…to be complimented like that. Did people really see me that way? As someone…worthwhile? I guess, after being with Riku, it was getting less and less difficult to believe.

"Well, nice talking with you," Kairi said to the cashier. With a short wave, she gripped my hand and bounced to the door, stumbling back into the mall with me in tow. "Hey, let's go down to the bookstore! Walden Books has a _lot _of good yaoi mangas."

I sighed. "Sure, why not."

"Come on, Sora!" She tugged on my hand and we started down towards Kairi's Yaoi Manga Haven. I remember her calling it that once.

We sat down in a small corner in front of the _Romance _section, which was on one of the walls running perpendicular to the freestanding manga shelf. Kairi began perusing the selection, running her fingertip over the titles. Squeaking happily, she practically tore one from its place, hugging it to her chest as she plopped down beside me. I just sat there with my chin propped in my hand, looking idly about the store. I liked this place; it was cozy, and there weren't many people. In fact, I don't think there were any save for us and the cashier. It was almost nothing like the Barnes and Noble we worked at, which was almost always full of people. Kairi also said that our Barnes and Noble had a horrible manga selection, and that she looked to Borders for her stock of yaoi. I always rolled my eyes and called her a traitor.

I exhaled heavily, letting my thoughts wander. They meandered right back to what had happened in Riku's car that afternoon. I blushed just remembering it. I don't know why I'd let that happen, but I would admit that it had been…well, fun. Different. Exciting. And…I think that during all of it, I had begun to realize something. But, I was just probably being silly. Because there was no way that something like _that _could happen so quickly.

Could it?

Maybe I should ask Kairi; she seemed to know more about these things than me.

I tapped her on the shoulder, bringing her out of her boy's love fantasy world. "Hey, Kairi…"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think it would be…ridiculous for me to…think I was in love?"

I jumped as her eyes lit up like Christmas lights and a _huge _grin spread across her face. "SORA!" she squealed, latching onto my neck and hugging me so tightly that I think she disrupted the flow of air through my trachea.

"K-Kairi!" I gasped. "Let…go…!"

She relented, putting a good inch between our bodies but keeping us connected with her arm around my shoulder. "Sora!" she whispered, her voice syrupy with delight. "Sora, are you in love with Riku?"

"That's what I was going to ask you."

She blinked. "No, I'm not in love with Riku. Well, I am, but not in the way that—"

"No, no," I interrupted. "I meant… I was going to ask you if you thought that _I _was in love with Riku."

"Well, how am I supposed to know that?"

"Um…well, do you think it's impossible for someone to fall in love with someone after only dating them for a week? And, I mean, I haven't even _known _him for much longer than that."

"I'd say that it's unlikely for someone to _really _fall in love over such a short period of time, but it's definitely possible."

"It's just that…I feel like I've known him for…well, ever. Is that stupid?"

"Of course not!" She thought for a moment before saying, "Why do you think you're in love?"

"Well, of course I don't actually know what love feels like; I can only speculate from what I've heard. But, based on what I've heard and what I feel, I would say that it feels like I'm in love. I'm always…really happy when I'm with him, and I only ever want him to be happy, too. I would sacrifice…maybe anything if it would mean his happiness." I shrank against the bookshelf, covering my face with my hands. "Agh, I sound like a bad Valentine's Day Hallmark card."

"No, no you don't, Sora!" Kairi tried to assure me. "Keep going."

I took a deep breath, feeling my cheeks fill with a very unwanted heat as I continued. "I…well…I feel…complete when I'm with him. It's the sort of complete that makes me realize that I was ever incomplete to begin with. Like, I never really felt like I was missing something until I met him and suddenly, there was this hole in my heart. And the only time it's filled is when he…kisses me, or smiles at me, or even just touches me. I feel…whole when he's around."

I glanced at Kairi to find her smiling wistfully. "Sounds like love to me," she said, her voice gentle.

"But…I mean, it's only been a couple weeks. I just met him! And…he's the first boyfriend I've ever had. How do I know I'm not just imagining all of this because I've never been with someone before? How do I know I'm not just over exaggerating?"

"Well, you don't. But… Sora, do you believe in soul mates?"

"Soul mates?"

"Yeah."

"I…I guess. I don't know; I've never really given it that much thought."

"Well," she said, "I think that everyone has someone in the world who was born just for them, and vice versa. Like two sides of the same coin, like the sun and the moon, like the melody and the harmony of a song.—"

She was being poetic again, but I just couldn't see this getting explicit.

"I think that everyone has a person who they're just…meant to love. And whether this person is your first partner or your fiftieth, I think you have to find them sooner or later. So why not sooner?"

"So…you think Riku and I are meant to be together?"

"I truly do."

I sat up a little, looking down at my lap for a moment. These were the times when I knew for sure why Kairi was my best friend. "Thanks, Kairi," I said softly.

"No problem." She braced herself against the wall and rose to her feet, holding out her hand to help me up. "Come on."

I smiled and took her hand. She paid for her manga and we left, her swinging her plastic bag merrily as we stepped through the exit. We made it past the cell phone kiosk when suddenly—

"Hey, you! Hey!"

—I felt a hand land on my shoulder and turned to see a couple of girls walking behind us. My first impression of one of them was that she was Kairi's twin sister, but then I noticed the blonde hair. The other girl was a brunette, a little shorter than her friend.

"Can I help you?" I asked as we stopped in the sparse flow of people.

"Yeah. You're Riku's boyfriend, right?" the blonde asked. I nodded hesitantly. She extended her hand, saying, "My name is Naminé. And this is Olette." She exchanged a look with Olette and continued, "We're Riku's ex-girlfriends."

Olette added, "And we need to talk to you."

Kairi and I passed each other bemused glances before I nodded and we followed the girls as they led us over to a bench in front of Bloomingdale's, which was right beside the bookstore. Kairi and I sat down on the lacquered wood, the two girls sitting beside me. "Okay. What's this about?" I asked.

Naminé smiled sweetly at me, which was a change from the initial homicidal vibe I'd picked up. "Your name's Sora, right?" she asked me. I nodded. "Sora, you seem like a nice boy."

"I…like to think that I am," I said, still a little lost as to what these girls wanted.

"Well, if you want to stay that way, you'll break up with Riku."

"Wh-What?"

"No way!" Kairi exclaimed, aghast.

"He's nothing but trouble," Olette inputted, leaning forward with her hands gripping the edge of the bench, peering around Naminé at me.

"Look, here's how it goes," Naminé said, sounding eerily business-like. "You don't know Riku like we do. We go to school with him, we've dated him—"

"There are few who haven't," Olette interrupted.

"—and we know what he's _really _like, whereas you have no clue. All you've seen is his carefully sculpted façade that he wears to charm his victims. You know, that sweet, considerate, loveable, albeit extremely sexy, Riku. Face it, Sora, you're an easy target for him because you're naïve."

"And still a virgin, I take it?" Olette mused. My face turned red again as I nodded curtly. Olette laughed, and it was hollow, dry. "You won't be that way for much longer if you stay with Riku."

"What are you trying to say?" I asked, feeling more than uncomfortable with the conversation.

Naminé studied her fingernails for a minute before saying, "Out of the, say, two-thousand students or so in our school—under- and upperclassmen alike—Riku has dated seventy-five percent of them, made-out with eighty-six percent, and slept with ninety-two percent."

"Th-That's ridiculous!" I said. "How could you…know something like that?"

"That's exactly my point: how could you _not _know something like that? It's pretty much common knowledge in our school. Riku is the Sex God of the student body. He's relentless, horrible, the worst bastard you'll ever meet. Do you want to know what happened with me and him?"

I wanted to say no.

"He dated me for about a week before he got me to sleep with him. It carried on like that for a while, I'd say about three weeks, until one morning I woke up and there was a note on his pillow saying that he wanted to break up with me."

"It was worse with our relationship," Olette piped up. "He didn't even _sleep _with me. On our _second _date, he just…fucked me and then told me afterwards that it was over."

"But he…" I was desperately trying to wrap my mind around this. Needless to say, it wasn't working very well. "He hasn't done anything like that to me. He's…really…"

"Nice? Chivalrous? Charming? He always is," Naminé said bitterly. "That's how he does it. Riku is an animal with a libido to match. When he finds someone he wants, he gets them. He captures their attention with his natural appeal, then seduces them into bed, and dumps them like yesterday's trash when he grows tired of them. It doesn't matter who you are or how you feel about him; all he has in mind is himself. And he gets what he wants; no one turns him down. It's only after he's torn you apart that you realize what a demon he really is. He will utterly _destroy_ you and not even bat an eye."

Olette nodded. "He doesn't have girlfriends or boyfriends. He has playthings. That's all you are to him, Sora, a plaything. In Riku's mind, relationships are just a big game. Sooner or later, you'll see it. You'll be a victim just like the rest of us."

I laughed nervously; I couldn't help it. "You… You make him sound like a serial killer, or something."

Naminé shook her head. "No, he's much worse than a serial killer. Riku is a serial heartbreaker."

---

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**A/N: **Dun, dun, dun! What now? What will Sora think? What will he do? Oh, the questions! Review, and thou shalt find out!

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	15. Everyone's On Riku's Case

**Chances in Life**

_XO'MagickMoon'OX_

**.Chapter XV. ** Everyone's On Riku's Case

**A/N: **Hiiye! omg, I'm so sorry for not updating sooner! I've been on a sort of hiatus on FFN, so that's why I have not only been not updating, but I haven't really been reading other people's stories. Gomen! I blame the start of school, throwing me all off with everything. x.x;;

Aanyway, I'm sort of back, and here's the next chapter! I know people are waiting for an update for _Deadly Desire _too, and I'll get that up as soon as possible.

Enjoy!

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**/Sora's POV/**

Olette and Naminé stood, and Naminé turned, putting her hand on my shoulder. Her touch burned. "Sora," she said, "if you have any sense about you whatsoever, you'll break up with Riku right away. He's nothing but a heartless monster."

"Don't!" I all but yelled at her, my resolve crumbling. "Don't talk about him like that!" I shook her hand away.

Naminé shook her head. "You poor misguided child. Just wait a little while, and you'll see that I was right." She turned to Kairi, saying, "I take it you're his friend? Well, you should uphold your duties as his friend and talk some sense into him."

Kairi retorted, "My duties as his friend are to support him and warn him when I think that something's wrong, and I don't think there's anything wrong with Riku. For all I know, you two could be harboring some sort of nasty grudge against him and just want to ruin his relationship with Sora. Or maybe you're jealous of Sora. All I know for sure is that I don't know you two and I trust Riku."

Olette sighed sadly. "It's your funeral," she said to me. And with that, she and Naminé left, and I let out the breath I hadn't known I'd been holding.

"Sora," Kairi turned to me, "don't listen to them."

"I…I know, Kairi. I…trust Riku, too. I trust him with my life." Unconsciously, I began to worry my bottom lip between my teeth.

Kairi sighed then, and said, "Just…be careful, Sora. If… If you start to suspect that they were telling the truth—God forbid—then break off your relationship with Riku immediately. Understand?"

I nodded. "Of course." And yet, my stomach twisted painfully at the thought.

"Hey, come on," she said, standing and slipping her bag over her wrist. "Let's go to the food court. I want some ice cream."

I smiled, though I doubt it reached my eyes. "Okay."

We made our way to the food court in companionable silence, exchanging a word or two every now and then, desperately trying to rekindle the jaunty atmosphere that had been deflated with Naminé and Olette's entrances. We sort of succeeded.

At the food court, we ordered our ice cream and began a hunt for a table. A shock of yellow caught my eye and I squinted to make sure that… "Hey, there's Tidus!" I said. I grabbed Kairi's hand and pulled her over to the table by the window.

"Hey guys," he said grinning up at us.

"Mind if we join you?" I asked.

"Not at all." He motioned for us to take the empty chairs across from him. Beside him was a Wendy's tray piled with garbage, and a tall cup (presumably a Frosty) was in front of him. We'd started to eat our ice cream when he asked, "So, Riku and Sora gave you a show, did they?"

Kairi smiled brightly, nodding. "It was _good_."

"Heh, I'm sure. You guys were just making-out, right?" He turned to me as I blushed and nodded around my spoon. His expression faltered a little. "Did he…do anything that he…well, doesn't usually do?" he asked uneasily.

I started at the question. "What?"

"Ah, it's just…" Tidus ran his fingers through his hair, a faint pink tint to his cheeks. "It's not like I _want _to know, or anything, I'm just…curious. Honestly tell me, did he do anything that he doesn't usually do?"

His serious demeanor was making me nervous. "Well…he was a little more…forward, I guess."

"There was a lot more groping," Kairi supplied helpfully, seeing my current state of embarrassment that was generally a hindrance to my speech. "Not that I would really know how much groping there is usually, but…just speculating…"

I nodded. "Yeah, there was."

Kairi laughed nervously. "If I hadn't been in the car," she said, leaning an elbow on the white-and-green tabletop, "I think there would have been little stopping Riku from ravishing Sora."

After our conversation with Naminé and Olette, that didn't sound as funny as it usually would. I looked down at my ice cream, suddenly losing my appetite. "Yeah, he's not usually…that intense."

"Hm." Tidus took it all in with a thoughtful expression, his mouth around his straw. Then, his smile broke through the nebulousness of his countenance like the sun through storm clouds. "Man, if I were into guy on guy action, I might be jealous of you, Kairi," he said turning to her.

She simply laughed and took another bite of her ice cream.

"Well," Tidus stood, "speaking of Riku, I have to get his milkshake. See you guys back at the store?"

"Yup," Kairi chirped.

"All right." With that, he left in the direction of the ice cream stand, tossing his garbage in the trash on his way out.

Grudgingly, I finished my ice cream. I really wished I didn't feel like I was just going to throw it all up.

**/Riku's POV/**

"Riku!"

I turned from ringing up an _Dragonforce_ shirt and saw Tidus weaving around the shelves, my milkshake and a Frosty in hand. He reached the counter as I stuffed the shirt into a black plastic bag and handed it to the customer. "Have a good day," I said politely. The person nodded and left, and I hopped up onto the counter, reaching for my milkshake.

Tidus hesitated before giving it to me, but give it to me, he did. Even if I'd had to grab at it. There was something on his mind, I could tell, and I didn't think I was going to like it very much.

"Riku," he leaned on the counter, taking a sip of his melted Frosty, "I heard a little more about your exhibitionist display."

I groaned. "Kairi," I sighed. "Never again am I giving someone a show, especially not a bigmouthed yaoi fangirl."

"Riku." Tidus didn't accept my humor. "She didn't blab; I asked them about it, her and Sora."

"Oh? Why? You interested, Tidus?"

"In your behavior, yes, but not in the act itself." For once, he was the one smacking me over the head.

I ignored it, setting my cup on the counter. "What about my behavior?"

"I find it…funny," I could tell he described it as such for lack of a better word, "that right after our little talk, you decide to practically rape your boyfriend."

"What!" My eyes widened at that. "What exactly did they _tell _you?"

He waved a hand distractedly. "Okay, so maybe 'rape' isn't the best word—"

"Tch, no."

"—but, really, Riku, why did you give Kairi a show?"

"It was…a favor."

"Really? Are you sure you weren't just trying to…reaffirm something?"

"Reaffirm what?"

"That's what I'd like to know."

"Tidus, I don't get what you're trying to say."

He sighed heavily. "Look, here's how it goes. Kairi said that it looked like, if she hadn't been in the car, you would've 'ravished' Sora. Sora said you'd never been so 'forward' or 'intense' before. They said there was a lot more _groping _than usual. What exactly are you trying to prove, Riku?"

I could feel my jaw set angrily. "I'm not trying to prove anything! I was just making-out with my boyfriend; what is so wrong with that?"

"You just don't _get_ it, do you?" Tidus looked rather livid, which was scary, coming from someone as easygoing and whimsical as him. "I may not know Sora very well, but from what I gather, he's a sweet, trusting, innocent guy. He cares about you."

"And how is that any different from the number of other people I've ever dated?" I demanded hotly.

"That's just it! You're pretending like he's just another goddamn soon-to-be _conquest!_"

"Because he _is!_"

"No, he's _not! _Jesus, Riku, wake _up!_ I thought you'd be able to see it yourself, but—"

"Tidus, shut up. You'd don't know what you're talking about! Nothing has changed."

"_Something _has changed!" His palms were flat on the countertop, his elbows locked resolutely, and a certain fire in his eyes that just kept growing more angry by the second. I was in a similar state, my arms folded defiantly. The few customers we had were starting to stare, but I ignored them. Tidus continued, "You're such a…such a…such a complete _dumbass_, Riku!"

I lifted an eyebrow coolly, daring him to continue.

"You think it's okay to just…to just play around with people's hearts, acting as if you don't have one! But we, your friends, have to deal with the aftereffects of your breakups. You don't know what you _do _to people!"

"Yes, I do."

"But you don't understand the weight of it all. It doesn't even fucking _faze _you! The hysterical, weeping girls, the guys who are too humiliated and ashamed to even mention your name ever again. Do you… Do you even _know _how Yuna was after you used her? She was devastated! Do you know how much that _hurt _me, to see her like that because of something that _my _friend did?"

"It's all nonsense! Love? Heartache? It's all in their heads! They just delude themselves—"

"_You're _the one who's deluding yourself! You look at the world through your…your warped _Riku-vision!_ You see yourself so above everyone because you don't think you're susceptible to heartache! You don't think you have anything to lose by going into a relationship! And you _don't_. You pick out boyfriends and girlfriends, looking for an easy lay, a good fuck. Feelings, love—"

"Fantasy," I said, my voice an icicle stuck through his throat. He couldn't speak for a heartbeat or two, until he shook his head, his elbows buckling resignedly and his head hanging.

"It's not worth it anymore," he murmured, his voice a quiet and broken contrast to his previous robust and incensed tone. "Riku, you're going to make a big mistake, and when you do, an I-told-you-so won't even _begin _to cover it."

"Hn," I snorted. "Whatever you say, Tidus. You, and everyone else in this world, are just setting yourselves up for numerous inevitable downfalls by chasing a whimsical fancy."

He lifted his gaze daringly to mine. "You're right about the numerous inevitable downfalls; those are just part of life and the relationships that living entails. But _you _are digging your own grave by refusing to believe in something that is a bigger part of your life than you know."

"Whatever, Tidus," I said again.

"Riku!"

I turned, seeing Sora and Kairi enter the store. Unknowingly, I smiled. They came up to the counter, and Tidus left, going to the backroom and slamming the door petulantly. He was such a jackass.

"What's up?" Kairi asked cheerily.

"Oh nothing, just arguing with Tidus."

"About what?" Sora queried, leaning on the glass showcase to the side of the counter that faced the entrance.

"Nothing important," I dismissed it. "So, what have you two been up to?"

"You should put a leash on your boyfriend," Kairi said flippantly. "He was flirting with the cashier in Abercrombie."

"You were?" I turned, bemused to Sora. He was blushing and pouting at Kairi.

"N-No!" he stuttered, turning to me. "Kairi dragged me in there. She was trying to prove a point."

"Aaand I di-_id_," Kairi said in a singsong tone.

"What point?" I asked, looking between them.

"Oh, Sora thinks that he's this homely little boy who's nothing special. I was trying to prove to him that anyone would jump on the chance to date him _because _he's anything _but _homely," Kairi explained.

I frowned inwardly at this. Sora thought he was homely? Nothing special?

"His self-esteem is about as high as Selphie's GPA. Basically, not very high," Kairi continued. "He's never really looked at himself very positively."

Sora was blushing, but he wasn't denying it. This new information had me a little concerned. How could Sora look at himself that way? He was more than attractive; he was gorgeous, with the innocent adorability to match. I would never have spared him a glance, much less dated him, if he hadn't been attractive. But, why did it irk me so much that he didn't see himself as someone beautiful? Why should I care about his self-esteem?

Why did I want to make him feel beautiful?

Gah, here came the confusing thoughts again! Bad thoughts, bad! Stay back! I mentally beat them away with a metal bat. I think it managed to stifle them for a while.

I looked at Sora, feeling my chest tighten a little. Which was wrong. Only one area of my body was supposed to react to my boy- and girlfriends, and it was much further south than my chest. And I would make that part of my body react whether it wanted to or not, and I would refuse to acknowledge the increase of my heartbeat or the pleasant twisting of my stomach. And everything would be right with the world.

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I arrived home that evening after dropping Sora and Kairi off and began to fix my dinner. Seph was sitting at the table, sifting through the mail. "Figures," he murmured.

"What?"

"Yuffie's having another party."

"Sounds fun."

"Yeah, Friday night."

"I'll invite Sora," I said as I pulled out a package of frozen chicken.

"Just Sora?" Sephiroth lifted his eyebrow at me.

"Yeah. Why?"

"Don't you think he might be uncomfortable without, say, his… little redheaded friend there?"

My eyes flashed at him. "Why would he be uncomfortable? I'll be there."

"And that's exactly what worries me."

I dropped the plate I'd been carrying onto the counter. It clattered in protest. "What?" I hissed. "First Tidus, now you? What is _with _everyone? Why are you all acting like my being with my boyfriend is a crime?"

Sephiroth didn't answer. He just went back to the mail. I wasn't going to let it go.

"Seph, answer me," I demanded.

"Don't you feel it, Riku?" he asked, not looking up from a letter he was opening.

"Feel what? Anger? Frustration? Annoyance?" I spat.

"Confliction."

Yes. "No."

"Are you sure?"

No. "Yes."

"You'd have to feel it sooner or later, you know. Being the…walking contradiction," he said it with amusement, "that you are."

My hand tightened around the fork that I was holding, and it took every fiber of my being to not stick it in Sephiroth's head. Violently. I would not give him the gratification of knowing that yes, I was conflicted, but about what, I didn't know.

"Do you know why?"

Apparently Sephiroth did.

"Adolescents are psychologically fragile," he said. "You were young when it started. Though you were fifteen when they actually left, it all really started when you were closer to ten or eleven. I remember, because I was thirteen, fourteen maybe. They started to fall out of love with each other then, and you knew it, though you probably couldn't recognize it for what it was. But from the time you were about ten years-old, you started to get the idea that love didn't exist from the two people whom you naturally looked to to set an example for how you should live. For a while, I shared the mentality. But eventually, I grew out of it. You, however, never did. Your love-doesn't-exist mentality was only cemented as time wore on, because you'd been introduced to it at a young point in your life. When you were younger, it was a defense mechanism. You thought thinking as you did would make it easier to accept the things that our parents were doing. The heart will defy reason to protect itself from pain. Soon, it just became a general truth in your life. Because you had believed in it for so long, because it was such a vital flank in your defense against heartache, you couldn't just _stop _believing in it."

My hand at this point was choking any imaginary breath the fork had. I think it was even turning a little blue. "Seph, shut the fuck up. You don't know what you're saying, just like Tidus."

"There you go again, little brother." Oh, how I hated the way his voice was so smooth and cool. "By denying what your heart truly desires, you are conflicting yourself. How can it not hurt you, to have your heart so twisted that it doesn't know which way is up? How can you not want to kick yourself for even thinking that Sora means nothing to y—"

"_Leave Sora out of this!_" I shouted, glaring daggers at my brother. "This has nothing to do with him. He is _completely _irrelevant."

"And there is where you're wrong." Seph picked up the newspaper and started rifling through the flimsy gray pages. "Love is not a whimsical fancy, Riku." His voice had hardened now; instead of being the smooth, cool stream, it was one of the rocks that the water flowed casually over. "If you hurt Sora, you're going to be sorry."

Blah, blah, blah. This was the same bullshit Tidus had been feeding me. Why couldn't everyone just leave me be? I'd been perfectly fine as is for the past three years, and now suddenly they were all on my case because of _Sora_. Dammit, they didn't even _know _Sora, and here they all were warning me, practically threatening me, not to hurt him. What did they care about what happened to Sora? Why Sora?

I set my fork down and continued making my dinner, taking it to my room to eat once it was ready.

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**A/N: **Next chapter: enter all the drama! xD Review, please! I promise I'll try to update quicker!

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	16. The Party

**Chances in Life**

_XO'MagickMoon'OX_

**.Chapter XVI. ** The Party

**A/N: **Special thanksies to

**+RainbowSerenity **-_blows kisses_-

**+AbnormallyWeirdPerson **-_uber-pounces_-

**+Aornis Lethe **-_showers with hearts_-

for your fantastamazing reviews! Much appreciated!

And everyone, I am sooooo sorry, again, for the delayed update. I think this is going to be my regular updating habit now... not every other week like I used to do... long ago... -_reminisces_- And I'm very sorry for the wait!

But, just soes ya know, if ever I'm not updating my fanfiction, there's a good chance I'm updating my original fiction on fictionpress. Just go to my profile and click on my homepage! And on that note, I want to thank **Lingering-Misery-of-Sorrow **for reviewing my humble original fiction! Thank you muchly! -_gives heart-shaped cookies_-

And I hope to be updating _Deadly Desire _soon, for any of you who might be waiting for that. I'll at least have it out by Christmas; that is my goal! And maybe another chapter of this while I'm at it:D I'm on a mission! I should have been done with these stories by now. D: Not that I want them to really end too quickly, but you know..

Oh, and **I do not own the song _Paperthin Hymn _by Anberlin**. I suggest you check it out on www(dot)purevolume(dot)com/anberlin

Anyway, enjoy! And please, keep your all sporks, knives, and other assorted sharp objects inside the cabin at all times.

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**/Sora's POV/**

"A party?"

"_Yeah. Tonight. At Yuffie's house._"

I twirled the spirally telephone cord around my finger. "Sure, I can come, I guess. What time?"

"_Seven._"

I smiled. "Okay. Uh…Riku, what about Kairi?"

"_Oh, I was thinking that, well, maybe just you and I could go._"

I chuckled a little. "Like a date-ish thing?"

"_Yeah, like a date-ish thing._"

"Okay."

"_I'll pick you up, all right?_"

"Mhm. I'll be waiting. Bye."

"_Bye…_"

There was a space at the end of his voice, as if he wanted to say something else. I wondered if it was the same thing I wanted to say. But then there was a _click_, and the dial tone filtered into my ear. I shrugged, then dialed another number: my mom's. I told her about tonight and asked for permission, which was granted, and then hung up. A smile curved my lips as I went to get ready for the party; I had two hours before Riku would come to pick me up. I didn't bother calling Kairi, feeling for once that I would just do something on my own, without her consent or opinion or (I shuddered) _fashion advice_. Yes, I could definitely do without that last one.

I washed my face and brushed my teeth and fixed my hair before stepping into my bedroom and beginning to fish through my drawers. I came up with a plain blue long-sleeved shirt, one that fit rather snugly but was _not _suffocating (and matched my eyes, to boot) and then a pair of jeans. My own jeans. My own jeans that fit me as they _should_. They fell nicely on my hips and were tight enough that they showed off my ass but didn't have me needing to try and tug them down every five seconds. Not long after, I was ready. I checked myself in the full-length mirror propped against the wall beside my dresser and grinned at my reflection. I think…I looked okay.

Something on my dresser caught my eye, then, something silver and glinting. I picked it up, recognizing it as a necklace, one I'd gotten on Destiny Islands. It was a simple silver chain attached to two prongs of a three-pronged crown charm. I smiled fondly at it, running my thumb over the immaculate silver metal. I made a decision then and fastened it around my neck, letting it rest a few inches beneath the hollow of my throat, backed by blue cotton fabric.

Then I went downstairs to watch TV while I waited for Riku, grabbing my shoes and tugging them on as I sat on the couch.

Just as the clock struck seven, the doorbell rang. I laughed to myself and grabbed my jacket off the coat rack in the foyer before opening the door. Riku stood there, in a black long-sleeved fishnet shirt with a black tank top underneath. His jeans were a dark denim and hugged him in all of the right places, and below the frayed hems were striped black and gray sneakers. He smiled at me, and I melted inside.

"Ready to go?"

I nodded, stepping out the door and closing it behind me. He took my hand and pulled, and I stumbled into his arms, our lips drawn together as if infused with positive and negative charges, always attracted. I think he had the negative charges. My whole body tingled with the connection, and the pieces of a puzzle I hadn't known I'd been doing were put into place. It was a good feeling.

Somehow we got into Riku's car only a few minutes later, and I was buckling in. There was a song playing. It sounded kind of sad.

"……………………_re distant lullabies.  
If I could turn around I would tonight._"_  
_

"This is pretty," I said, gesturing to the melancholy music, delicate guitar chords and a quiet murmuring voice.

"Yeah." Riku started up the car and pulled away down the street. "It gets heavier."

"………………………………_seemed so long,  
Since your paper heart stopped beating—_  
leaving me suddenly alone.  
_Will daybreak ever come?_"

There were a few more intense guitar chords and then the chorus exploded, with more anger now than sadness.

"_Who's gonna call on Sunday morning? Who's gonna drive you home?  
I just want one more chance, to put my arms in fragile hands_."

I looked out the window and watched the nighttime world pass by, watched the blurs of passing streetlamps and lighted house windows. It was nice…ostensibly normal and harmless, but something felt perfidious.

"_I thought you said forever… over and over,  
A sleepless night becomes, bitter oblivion.  
These thoughts run through my head… over and over,  
Complaints of violins, become my only friends._"

"_August evenings, bring solemn warnings,  
To remember, to kiss the ones you love goodnight._"_  
_

"_You never know what temporal days may bring,  
So laugh, love, live free, and sin.  
When life is in discord, praise ye the Lord_."_  
_

"Who else is going to be at the party?" I asked, turning to Riku.

"Um… me, you, Seph, Tidus, Wakka, Leon, Yuffie (of course), probably Aerith and maybe Cloud, if Leon worked up the courage to ask him, and then whoever else Yuffie saw fit to invite, as well as a horde of people she _didn't _invite. So…expect a full house." He smiled at me, only briefly because he had to keep his eyes on the road, but I still melted inside. Again. At this rate I was just going to be a big pile of Sora-good by the time we got to the party.

"……………………… _in fragile hands.  
I thought you said forever… over and over,  
A sleepless night becomes bitter oblivion.  
These thoughts run through my head… over and over,  
Complaints of violins become my only friends._"

"_Friends._"

"_I thought you said forever… over and over,  
A sleepless night becomes bitter oblivion.  
These thoughts run through my head… over and over,  
Complaints of violins become my only friends._"

"_I thought you said forever… over and over   
(And over and over)  
These thoughts run through my head…_"

We were quiet for a while, with only the purr of the engine and the melody of the music filling the silence. Then, Riku said, "Are you nervous at all?"

I turned to him and blinked, though he didn't see it, what with his eyes on the road and all. "No. Should I be?"

"Of course not," Riku said all too quickly, but with passionate conviction. He added, more gently, "I was just…making sure. I never want you to be uncomfortable with me."

I smiled a little. "I'm never uncomfortable with you," I told him.

I could see half of his mouth smile, too. "Good." And then he was parking the car, and leaning over to kiss me.

**/Riku's POV/**

_Tonight_, I told myself as I pulled Sora forward to kiss him, biting on his bottom lip and feeding off of his whimper like a vampire feeding off of a young woman's blood. I wanted more, so much more. _Tonight this dance ends._

That's all this was, this relationship with Sora. It was a dance, a dance I led with practiced precision, the same dance I'd danced with many, _many _others. And, as per usual, when I threw him up in the air, took him to the highest of highs, and made to catch him as he came back down, I would step away and he would crash to the floor. And the dance would end. The musicians would leave, the lights would dim, and we'd never cross paths again. And life would go on.

I pressed closer to him, taking his face in my hands and kissing him harder, deeper, delving my tongue into his mouth, delighting in the way he shuddered as my hand took a trip to his stomach, sliding under his shirt and up. He sank further into the passenger seat, and I moved on top of him, reaching for the handle on the side of the seat to make it recline. Sora fell back with the seat, and I went with him, still attached at the mouth, my hand crawling ever higher. Desperate, short-lived gasps of breath were exchanged whenever our mouths disconnected enough to allow them passage, which was never for long, a half a second at most. I wanted him, more of him, all of him. I needed him.

Whoa. Whoa, whoa, _whoa_. Halt that train of thought. I did not _need _him. I never _needed _anyone. Need was something that besieged the weak, those weak fools who "fell in love". I never needed. I only ever wanted.

Let's try this again.

I wanted him like I'd never wanted anyone before. My hand began to push up the soft blue barrier of Sora's shirt. Up, up, up… Inch by inch his stomach, and then his chest, was revealed. My lungs were on fire with the need for oxygen, and I grudgingly broke the kiss, but could not for the life of me part from Sora. I moved my kisses to his jaw, feeling his chest rise and fall like ocean waves beneath my hands, the sound of his hot panting only fueling my desire. My face was flushed, my heart racing, I don't think I could've stopped myself then if I'd wanted to. His fingers were digging harmlessly into my shoulders, his head rolling back obligingly as my teeth nipped at the soft flesh of his bared throat, kissing and biting and sucking teasingly, making him whimper and mewl in a way that wound a pleasant knot in my stomach, in my chest, making my heart not just race but flutter. I was sure it wasn't healthy for a heart to flutter. Not that I really cared right then.

I breathed deeply through my nose, inhaling the scent of Sora's skin, sweat and something bittersweet that I would have thought to be cologne, if it weren't for the fact that the scent was far too amazing to be anything fabricated by man and packaged and stocked on the shelf to be sold for five dollars a bottle. Or even one-hundred dollars a bottle. It was just uniquely Sora. And no one would ever smell it like this but me, some part of me hoped. Hoped? No, what did I care, if anyone else ever got this close to Sora? That was right, I didn't. So I should just stop thinking about it and start paying attention to a newly awakened part of my body that was beginning to demand attention. A more southern part of my body. And these jeans were cut far too tightly to make for any sort of comfort then.

I started sucking on Sora's collarbone then, determined to leave a mark, when Sora murmured, "Riku… I think—"

There was an annoying, sharp rap at the window. I growled lowly, grabbing the door handle swiftly and swinging the car door open so that it collided with our audience.

There was a sharp curse from behind the door, the voice thickened with an all too familiar islander accent. I rolled out of the car, straightening myself, the cold air being generous enough to calm my inferno of a body. "What was that for, ya?" Wakka demanded, rubbing his knee.

"You asshole," I snarled, turning and smiling for Sora's sake as I helped him out of the car. He hurried to right his attire, pulling down his shirt and blushing fiercely. Oh, that blush… He was so adorable. I tucked my arm around his waist and pulled him close, shoving my other hand into my jeans' pocket. I tossed another glare at Wakka, who'd forgotten about his new bruises and was smiling cheekily at us, winking suggestively.

"Have some decency," another voice, this one colder, spoke up. I noticed Tidus standing there, then, beside Wakka. He looked as icy as his voice sounded. I ignored him, and he ignored me. And yet the silence between us seemed so _loud_.

_("You just don't get it, do you? I may not know Sora very well, but from what I gather, he's a sweet, trusting, innocent guy. He cares about you.")_

Wakka and Tidus walked ahead of us up the stairs of the porch to the front door. Some of the windows glowed yellow in the night, and there were shadows moving inside. Music pulsed heavily through the ground, but the song itself was inaudible.

_("You're pretending like he's just another goddamn soon-to-be _conquest!_")_

Sora leaned into me, and I surmised that despite what he'd said, he was a little nervous. "Have you ever been to a party like this before?" I asked.

He looked up at me with wide blue eyes, and he was blushing again. He averted his gaze, scuffing his foot on the porch as Wakka opened the door for us. "Well…not exactly…"

_("Jesus, Riku, wake _up!_ I thought you'd be able to see it yourself…")_

Even as we moved inside and the thrumming atmosphere ensconced us, I could see Tidus bristled and tense in front of us. With a last parting glare,

_("Riku, you're going to make a big mistake, and when you do, an I-told-you-so won't even _begin_ to cover it.")_

he disappeared into the throng of dancers congregated in the living room. In the living room, it was dark, with only blue strobe lights cutting through the shadows. I could smell alcohol in the air, though thankfully no smoke—Yuffie tended to keep the drug-usage under control with an iron fist (something about her grandmother passing away from lung cancer a few years ago). She didn't so much mind the alcohol, so long as everyone had a designated driver. To her credit, wild as she was, Yuffie was a pretty responsible hostess. I know that using "Yuffie" and "responsible" in the same breath might be a little unthinkable, but really, cut her some slack folks.

"RIKU!"

Speak of the Devil.

I was suddenly caught around the middle by two very bare and familiar arms, and Yuffie was hugging me tightly. "Hey Yuffie," I choked.

"Riku! Riku! Riku! I'm so glad you're here! And did you bring—oh, yes you did. SORA!" In a flash she'd turned on him and had him in her death grip. He looked to me for help, but I just smiled. He pouted at me. She pulled back after a moment and held him at arm's length, looking comically serious. "Now, Sora, don't take anything anyone offers you to drink—especially Riku. If you want something, go to the 'fridge and get an _unopened _can of soda, and don't let it out of your sight." She sounded like a mother sending her son off on his first date. Then she winked and smiled, and everything was right with the world. "I know that Riku would love to take advantage of you, were you inebriated enough to not protest. And trust me, you don't want to have sex with Riku; he's probably crawling with diseases, like a dog." She leaned towards him and whispered, though purposefully loud enough for me to hear, "Really, that's all he is, just a filthy mongrel." Leaning back and speaking louder, she said, "And so ladies, remember, never be afraid to just say _no_. If he really cares about you, he won't force you into anything." She patted Sora on the back and disappeared into the shadows and sound of the living room, throwing a last wink over her shoulder.

Sora was looking confused and very pink. He turned to me, as if for an explanation. I just smiled, took his hand, and led him into the living room.

I should have realized that whatever was in the punch bowl sitting innocently on the table was going to be spiked, but apparently I lack the acuity for realizing things before it's too late.

---

"Riku, where are we going?"

It was almost eleven o'clock, and I'd had enough spiked punch to be borderline drunk. Sora and I had been dancing for most of the night, sometimes talking to people, sometimes just flopping down on the couch and relaxing, and sometimes just flopping down on the couch and making-out. That's what we'd been doing when I'd decided to drag Sora upstairs to one of the empty guest rooms. I don't think anyone noticed us leaving, but then again—I think I was too intoxicated to notice.

Now, mind you, I wasn't totally smashed, or anything so drastic. But the walls of my inhibitions had been definitely knocked down a few feet, and my judgment was skewed. Right then, I decided that it was a good thing I wasn't totally in my right mind; somehow, I figured this whole thing would go a lot smoother if I wasn't completely aware of what was going on, but just aware enough to enjoy it.

"Riku?"

I rounded on Sora at the second floor landing and captured his lips, pulling him flush against me. He moaned, and I figured he was just as hot as me. His hips gravitated towards mine, pushing a little, and I growled, drawing him away to the guest room. I threw the door open and slid inside, closing it behind us, and then eased Sora to the bed. I could feel him tense, breaking the kiss and looking up at me with curious eyes as his knees folded upon contact with the edge of the mattress. I bent one knee beside him, leaning down and kissing him again, coaxing him back. I called upon almost every skill my tongue and hands were capable of then, making Sora relax and seducing him into going along with it all.

Somehow we wound up in the middle of the bed, with Sora's head against the neatly placed pillows. The made sheets were starting to wrinkle underneath us, rippling with smooth grooves. I was kissing his neck, biting and sucking and doing anything to elicit a noise. I nipped at his collarbone, my hands pushing up his shirt and tracing the faint muscles of his stomach; they twitched under my fingers, and I chuckled. "Riku," he murmured, his hands moving from my back to my hair to the sheets, obviously unsure of what to do with themselves.

My skin crawled with heat, and my pants were too tight again—and surely it was the alcohol, because I shouldn't be this easily hot and bothered. Or maybe it was just Sora…something about him was so addicting, so arousing, just the look in his eyes and the feel of his skin and the sound of his voice. I couldn't help but be drawn back to his face, and I stared at him for a moment before claiming that mouth that I was so obsessed with. Our tongues met, and I melted. His hands crawled around my shoulders, making me shiver. His touch was so innocent, so tentative, and yet so wanting to do something right. It was so endearing.

I wanted him. I wanted him so badly, and I wanted him right then.

My fingers rimmed the hem of his jeans, tugging on the belt loops. Sora didn't seem to notice, too preoccupied with my mouth and tangling his fingers in my hair. I wanted to purr as he started combing through it, unconsciously it seemed. My hands became attracted to the fly of his pants, and I started to undo the button and zipper—such annoying accessories. They always got in the way.

Sora broke the kiss, and I whined. I actually fucking whined. Damn alcohol. "Riku, what are you doing?" he asked breathlessly, his face flushed, and now beginning to redden further with what was unmistakably a blush.

I just kissed him again, sliding my fingers underneath the hem of his boxers. His skin was so soft. I wondered if it was just as soft everywhere else, and couldn't wait to find out.

"Riku," Sora said, a little more insistently, breaking the kiss again. He squirmed slightly.

"Shh." I sat up a bit so that I was kneeling over him, making Operation: Clothing Removal all the more easy. "Just relax," I told him, the words far too accustomed to my tongue. I could hear them echoing in my memory, having said them so many times to so many different people.

"Ri—"

I leaned down and silenced him with another kiss. This time he didn't accept it, and I frowned slightly. If I'd been in a more stable frame of mind, I might have noticed the terrified look in his eyes. Terrified and suspicious. He pushed himself up, trying to sit. I put my hands on his shoulders and nibbled on his ear, earning a pleasured whimper.

"Just relax," I told him again, my hands returning to his pants. They were lower on his hips now, revealing the tempting jut of his hipbone. "You'll enjoy it, I promise."

"Enjoy _what_?" he demanded, and I'd never heard him use such a tone of voice before.

If I'd been in a more stable frame of mind, I might have cared.

"This," I said, sliding my hands down his pants. He yelped and squirmed again, his fingers curling around the sheets. His face was bright red.

"Riku, stop it…" he murmured.

"Don't tell me you don't want me," I purred, my breath hot against his ear.

"I—I do, but… Riku!" Sora jerked, grabbing my wrists and trying to wrench them away. He was shaking. "Stop it," he repeated, his voice wavering. "Please, I _don't want to do this_."

"Yes you do," I insisted, kissing his temple. "Trust me." I tried to ease him back down onto the bed, but he refused to move.

"I do…" he whispered. "I do trust you."

"Then what's the problem? It's just sex; stop being such a baby."

"What!" His eyes widened, and he tried to wriggle out from under me. My lips set into a thin line for a moment, and I held his face, making to kiss him again. He held me back. He was stronger than I'd anticipated. "Riku! Stop it! Why are you doing this? I don't want to have sex with you!"

I don't think he could have made it any clearer, but you know how it was… If I was in a more stable frame of mind, I might have listened.

"Why not?" I demanded, scowling slightly. Somewhere in my chest, his words stung. And maybe not only his words, but the terror and anger and hurt on his face. I think there were tears in his eyes, and he was trembling harder now.

"Riku…" he whimpered, screwing his eyes shut. He looked like he wanted to disappear. But I wouldn't let that happen; I'd come this far, and I wasn't backing down now. I was going to have him, and I was going to have him tonight. I kissed him again, forcefully and domineeringly and roughly, and he made another whimpering sound. "Riku…" he pleaded against my lips, and there was something hot between our faces, hot and wet. He was crying.

I'd seen tons of people cry before, mostly at my doing. This was no different; it didn't faze me. Or so I made myself believe. I was good at making myself believe things.

My hands returned to his pants, sliding them down his hips a little further, and a new flame of arousal streaked through my body. I kissed him more, parting his lips with my tongue. He seemed to be relaxing, and I eased my demanding kiss, being gentler. He wrapped his arms around my back, and I slid down so that our bodies were flush against each other, and I pushed my hips into his. He moaned quietly into my mouth, something that sounded like "Riku" and then—

He bolted, moving faster then I could register. He was on the floor in a heartbeat, somehow having gotten out from underneath me. I sat on the bed, staring at him and trying to figure out what had just happened. I hadn't gotten very far in my train of thought when Sora stood up, fixing his pants, and shouted at me, "I hate you! Olette and Naminé were right… I can't believe it…!" He was still crying, wiping his face with his fist. "I can't believe you'd really do this! How could you! Riku! Riku…" He sobbed loudly, his eyes closed tightly against the flood. Something inside of me was breaking at the sight, and I wanted more than anything to hold him and tell him that I was sorry, that it was a mistake—anything to make the tears stop. I had no idea where these urges came from, and frankly right then I didn't care about questioning them. I would later, but not now. Now I just...

"Sora..."

But it was too late. He was throwing me a hateful tear-streaked look, and then he darted out the door, slamming it behind him.

It must have been that obnoxiously loud slam that brought me out of my spell, cleared my mind, sobered me up. Or maybe it was the reality, the reality of the situation—I'd been _rejected_. Someone had _refused _to sleep with me, and had gotten away. Or maybe it was Sora's tears and his words—

_I hate you!_

Yeah, maybe that was it. I couldn't be sure. All I could be sure of was that I was on the floor, leaning against the bed, and I was completely, despairingly, hopelessly numb.

I'd just lost Sora. I'd just lost Sora, and—would you believe it?—I was head-over-heels in love with him.

_---_

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**A/N: **Ehhhh.. and so! Whatcha think? I don't know... I'm not sure if I liked the way I wrote it all too much; I think I was picturing it differently in my head. Same scenario, but with just... more... I don't know. Well, anyway, I want you all to know that it was very hard to write Riku this way, and that might attribute to some of the blah-ness of it.. ;-; Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed! Stay tuned for the next installment (which will hopefully come out sooner than this one did)!

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